Illustrated 

Descriptive 

Argentina 

By 

Henry StepKens 

A.B., Ph.D. 



Zbc Iftnfcfterbocfter press 

NeTv YorK 
1917 



Copyright 

BY 

HENRY STEPHENS 
1917 

First Edition 



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¥ 



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SEP -8 1917 

i/UAjL. P ^. — A'\Ji4^ 

tTbc TftnfclJerbocfcer ipress, IRew J^orft 



.A476125 
■■74^ f . 



^0 



William Allan Livingstone 

Of DetToit. Michigan 
XHis Booh is Respectfully Dedicated 



m 



FOREWORD. 

ALTHOUGH the vast collection of books 
printed in the English language on Ar- 
gentina, its inhabitants and its resources 
are inexhaustible, none, however, have 
I seen given up in entirety to illustrations and 
descriptions thereof. 

The usual inane questions asked the recently 
returned traveler from South America by his friends 
at home such as: — "What is Argentina hke? I 
hear it is a great country." or, ''What does 
Buenos Aires look like?" cannot be answered in one 
or even in ten sentences. A chapter at least is 
needed for the briefest digest of description of 
this most progressive Republic in the Southern 
hemisphere. 

An oracular or written description gives a person 
one impression; illustrations give a different one; 
but neither alone can convey to the mind a true 
idea of a place or an object such as can be imbued 
by the individual who reads and studies a descrip- 
tive illustration. It is with this idea, therefore, 
that I have compiled these illustrations, and from a 
few words to a few paragraphs on each subject have 

V 



produced "Illustrated Descriptive Argentina," 
which I think is the only work of its kind. 

Most of the photographs I myself took; some 
were obtained from Olds, the pioneer landscape 
photographer of Buenos Aires; some from Chute 
& Brooks of Rosario; and others from A. A. Kirwin, 
of Tucuman. 

Henry Stephens. 

April 7, 1 91 7. 



VI 



BUENOS AIRES. 

BUENOS AIRES, federal capital of Argen- 
tina, has at the present time (191 7) a 
population of 1,650,000 inhabitants. 
It is the largest city in South America, 
and rivals Philadelphia for the distinction of being 
the third city in the Western Hemisphere. It is 
situated in latitude 34° 36' 21'' south and longitude 
58"^ 21' 33" west. It is built in a rather poor 
location on the west bank of the River Plate, 
about 150 miles above its mouth, and about 130 
miles northwest of Montevideo, the Uruguayan 
capital. 

Although the first settlement was made where 
the city now stands, by Pedro de Mendoza in 
1535. ttiG I'^a-l founding of the city did not take 
place until 1580, forty-five years later, when Juan 
Garay established the city which is now styled 
correctly "The Athens of America." 

What Nature failed to provide in the site of a 
great city, human work has overcome. Today 
Buenos Aires is the port of entry and the outlet of 
nearly all the commerce in the River Plate water- 
shed, the most prosperous and highly advanced 

vii 



part of South America, fast becoming the granary 
of Europe. It is the great distributing point of 
South America, in the same way that New York 
is that of North America. In one thing, however, 
is Buenos Aires lacking; — large manufacturing 
establishments. This is at present an impossi- 
bility, owing to the lack of iron, and to its great 
distance from the coal fields. Its heterogeneous 
population, yearly augmented by a large Euro- 
pean immigration, in which Italians and Spaniards 
predominate, has in recent years increased by 
leaps. The official census of 1869 gave it a popula- 
tion of only 177,767; that of 1895, 663,854; that of 
1904, 950,891 ; the next year it passed the million 
mark. 

The city is cosmopolitan in character, has the 
most modern conveniences, including a subway, 
and an excellent tram service. It has a fine park 
system, many plazas, elegant buildings, both 
public and private, fine hotels, restaurants, clubs, 
and the best race track in the world. Its newspaper 
offices are in a class by themselves. The streets 
are kept clean, and no vile odors assail the nostrils 
of the passers-by as in most South American cities. 

Probably nowhere else in the world are to be 
seen so many well-dressed people, especially the 
ladies. They have such a sense of good taste in 
dress, which, added to their naturally well-formed 
figures, that even the poorest of them in the 
cheapest of material can put in the shade many of 
our society belles in the costliest of raiment. 

viii 



The climate of Buenos Aires, although only- 
averaging an annual temperature of 64^ Fahren- 
heit, is humid, and the summer heat is at times 
enervating, and has a depressing effect. The rain- 
fall measures an annual average of 34 inches. 
Rains generally come from the west, and are 
preceded by violent gusts of wind. The intona- 
tions of thunder are loud, with vivid flashes of 
lightning. 



IX 



CONTENTS 



Buenos Aires .... 
Descriptive, Illustrated Argentina 
Province of Buenos Aires 
The Province of Santa Fe 
Territory of the Chaco 
Territory of Misiones 
Province of Entre Rios 
Province of Cordoba 
Province of Tucuman 
Province of Salta 
Province of San Luis 
Province of Mendoza 



PAGE 

vii 

I 

196 

344 
444 
452 
458 
482 
586 
638 
678 
706 



XI 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING 
PAGE 

Immigrant Station ....... 2 

Water Front OF Buenos Aires IN 1888 . -4 

Darsena Sud 6 

General View of Buenos Aires .... 8 

Majestic Hotel 10 

Plaza Hotel .12 

Paris Hotel . 14 

Splendid Hotel Frascati . . . ... 16 

Congressional Building . . . . . .18 

Room where Congress Meets, El Congreso . . 20 
Lounge Room of the Representatives, El Congreso . 22 
Capitol Building, Western Facade .... 24 

Courtyard of the Capitol ..... 26 

Audience Room of the Capitol . . . .28 

Custom House . . . . . . . .30 

Post Office 32 

Law Courts 34 

City Hall .36 

National Board of Education Building ... 38 

Rivadavia School 40 

RocA School . . ... . . . . 42 

Business College .44 

Faculty of Medicine .46 

National Library ....... 48 

Main Office of La Prensa .50 

xiii 



FACING 
PAGE 



Directors' Room, La Prensa 

Banquet Hall, La Prensa Building 

Office Building of the Central Argentine Railway 

Once Railroad Station .... 

Plaza Constitucion Railroad Station 
The Mataderos ..... 

Stockyards of the Mataderos, Partial View 

Scraping Room, Mataderos 

"Your Turn Next" . . . 

German Club . 

Jockey Club ...... 

Atrium of the Jockey Club 

Balcony around Courtyard of Jockey Club 

Domino Room of the Jockey Club . 

Dining-Room, Jockey Club 

Entrance to the Race Track . 

Grandstands of the Race Track 

The Argentine Hippodrome 

Race Course, Argentine Hippodrome 

Reconquista Street . 

Plaza de Mayo 

AvENiDA de Mayo 

Bartolome Mitr6 Street 

Florida Street 

Defensa Street 

Tucuman Street 

A Buenos Aires Market 

a conventillo . 

Avenida Alvear. 

Another View of the Beautiful Avenida Alvear 

RivADAViA Street, Flores . 

Avenida Manuel Montes de Oca 



XIV 



Paseo de Julio in 1888 

Paseo de Julio, 1907 

Statue in the Plaza Lorea 

"Statue of Doubt" . 

Statue in Palermo Park 

Lola Mora Fountain 

Statue of George Washington 

Lavalle Monument . 

Garibaldi Statue 

San Martin Statue . 

French Monument . ' . 

Entrance to the Recoleta 

A Street of the Dead 

Ayerza Monument, Recoleta 

Jos]& Semino Vault, Recoleta 

Dorrego Ortiz Basualdo Tomb, Recoleta 

Santo Domingo Church 

Santa Catalina de Sena Church 

Interior of San Nicolas Church 

Church of the Concepcion 

Church of San Salvador . 

Basilica of the Concepcion, Belgrano 

Wheat Elevators .... 

Basualdo Palace .... 

Paz Palace ..... 

A Buenos Aires Residence 

House of the Colonial Period. 

Home of the Tyrant Rozas 

House where Rozas was Born . 

Palermo Park ..... 

Artificial Lake In Palermo Park . 

Llamas at the Zoological Garden . 



FACING 

PAGE 

116 

118 

120 

122 

124 

126 

128 

132 

134 
136 
138 
140 
142 
144 
146 
148 

160 
162 
164 
166 
168 
170 
172 

174 
176 

178 



XV 



FACING 
PAGE 



"Numa" and "Sabor" 

Itinerant Cigar Vendor . 

Peddlers of Bread and Vegetables 

Garlic and Onion Peddler 

Typical Bar, Buenos Aires 

The Riachuelo 

The Riachuelo .... 

Statue of Avellaneda, Avellaneda 

Country House, Province of Buenos Aires 

Country House, Province of Buenos Aires 

Estancia "San Jacinto" . 

EsTANCiA "San Fernando" 

Estancia "Los Remedios". 

Estancia "Santa Catalina" 

Estancia "Villa Elisa" . 

Estancia "El Socorro" 

Flock of Sheep on "El Socorro" 

Sheep on an Estancia, Province of Buenos Aires 

Argentine Sheep 

GuANAcos on an Estancia 

Estancia "Curumalan" 

Estancia "La Negreta" . 

Estancia "Villate Olaguer" 

Ombu Tree on Estancia "Villate Olaguer" 

Bull Stable on an Argentine Estancia . 

Prize Bull, Province of Buenos Aires 

Dairy Farm, Estancia "Tambo La Florida" 

Dairy Cows, Estancia "Constitucion" 

Hereford Cattle at Estancia "La Fidela" 

Prize Cattle at an Argentine Fair . 

Ranch of the Frigorifico "La Blanca" . 

A Tropero 



XVI 



FACING 
PAGE 

Gauchos . . .... . . 248 

Plowing Scene ........ 250 

The Return from Threshing . . . . . 252 

Straw Stacks ........ 254 

Bringing Wheat to the Railroad Estancia "San 

Pascual" ........ 256 

Sacks of Wheat at an Argentine Railroad Station . 258 

PuLPERiA "El Ombu" ...... 260 

Plaza and Church at Quilmes . . . . 262 

La Plata 264 

Railway Station . < . . . . . . 266 

Casa de Justicia ....... 268 

Legislature ........ 270 

Capitol ......... 272 

City Hall 274 

Park, La Plata 276 

La Plata Views: 

Normal School ....... 278 

Bank of the Province of Buenos Aires . . 278 
La Plata Views : 

Old Railway Station 280 

Statue of San Martin ..... 280 

Fishing Boats at Mar del Plata .... 286 

The Strand ........ 288 

La Peral ......... 290 

Church, Mar del Plata ...... 292 

Bust of Humbert I . . . . . . . 294 

Mar del Plata Club ...... 296 

Hotel Bristol and Casino ..... 298 

Dining-Room, Hotel Bristol . . . . . 300 

Annex of the Hotel Bristol ..... 302 

The Rambla 304 

xvii 



Cordoba Street . . . 
Balancing Stone, Tandil . 
Plaza Colon, Azul .... 
Plaza Colonel Olavarria, Olavarria 
Church of San Jose, Olavarria 
Chiclana Street, Bahia Blanca 
Plaza Rivadavia .... 
Alsina Street 

TiGRE 

Open-air Dining-room, Hotel Tigre . 

Country Store, Zarate 

City Hall, San Pedro 

Church at San Pedro 

City Hall and Courthouse, ^Mercedes 

25TH Street, Mercedes 

Church at ^Mercedes 

Central Argentina Railway Station, Pergamino 

Views of Pergamino: 

San Nicolas Street, Showing Hotel Roma on 
Right 

San Nicolas Street, Looking South 
Views of Pergamino: 

Side Street in Pergamino 

Plaza — 25 de Mayo 
The Santa Fe Campo 
Plowing Virgin Soil . 
Typical Ranch . 

Sacks of Corn at a Railway Station 
Dipping Sheep at Estancia "Santa Isabel* 
General View of Santa Fe 
Harbor at Santa Fe 
Plaza de Mayo 



FACING 
PAGE 
306 

308 

310 

316 
318 
320 
322 

324 
326 
328 
330 
332 

334 
336 
338 



XVlll 



Normal School 

Commerce Street 

Church of San Francisco 

Church of San Antonio . 

La Merced Church . 

Exportation Section of Port Works, Rosario 

ROSARIO IN 1888 

Station of the Province of Santa Fe Railroad 

Tracks of the Central Argentina Railroad, Rosario 

Courthouse 

Political Building 

Plaza de Mayo . 

City Hall .... 

La Matriz, or Cathedral 

Governor Freyre School 

Stock Exchange 

London and Brazilian Bank 

Bank of Italy and River Plate 

Spanish Bank of the River Plate 

British Bank of South America 

Bank of London and River Plate 

French Bank of the River Plate 

Castagnino Building 

Santa Fe Street 

San Martin Street 

Views of Rosario: 

Cordoba Street . 
Cordoba Street 
Boulevard Orono 
Residence of Dr. C. Bartlett 
PiNAsco Mansion 
Fernandez Diaz Residence 



FACING 
PAGE 

366 

368 

370 

' 372 

■ 376 

■ 378 
. 380 

382 
. 384 
. 386 
. 388 

• 390 
. 392 

. 394 

. 396 

• 398 
. 400 
. 402 

• 404 
. 406 
. 408 
. 410 
. 412 
. 414 

. 416 

. 418 

. 420 

. 422 

. 424 

. 426 



XIX 



RESIDE^XE OF Dr. Nicanor Elia 

Palatial Residence in Rosario 

Residence of Diego Alvear 

Column of Victory, Plaza de I^Iayo 

Mausoleum of Marcelino Semino 

Independence Park . 

Swimming Pool at Saladillo 

MoNTES Residence at Alberdi . 

Palmares, Territory of Chaco 

Indian Tolda .... 

ToBA Women .... 

Falls of the Iguazu 

Another View of the Iguazlt Falls 

Entrerriano Landscape 

Parana River Landscape, Province of Entre Rios 

Santa Elena .... 

ParanA River Passenger Ferry 

Entrerriano Shore of the ParanA River 

EuROPA Street, Parana 

Plaza de Mayo, Parana 

Cathedral 

Church of San AIiguel 

Capitol, Parana 

Urquiza Street, Parana 

Partial View of Cordoba 

View of Cordoba, Looking South 

Central of Cordoba Railway Station 

Northern IMarket 

Centennial Bridge 

Bridge over the Rio Primero 

San Geronimo Street 

Plaza San Martin . 



XX 



Bank of the Argentine Nation 

Spanish Bank of the River Plate 

Bank of London and River Plate 

Bank of the Province of Cordoba 

Capitol 

New Capitol 

New Courthouse 

New City Hall 

Rivera Indarte Theater 

Olmos School . 

Penitentiary 

Cordoba Brewery 

MiNETTi Brothers' Flour Mill. 

Cathedral . 

Church of San Roque 

Church of Santo Domingo 

Cloister of Santo Domingo 

Church of La Mercedes . 

Church of the Compania . 

Church of Santa Teresa . 

Church of San Francisco 

Interior of Church of San Francisco 

AvENiDA General Paz 

Fall of Bridge in Sarmiento Park 

Zoological Garden . 

Statue to Velez Sarsfield 

SOBREMONTE HoUSE 

Garzon Residence 
Chalet of Senor Minetti 
Street Scene, Bialet Masset . 
Street Scene, Cordoba 
Filters on the Rio Primero 



FACING 
PAGE 

506 
508 

520 

524 
526 

528 

534 
536 
538 
540 
542 
544 
546 
548 
550 
552 
554 
556 
558 
560 
562 
562 
564 



XXI 



Rio Primero 

PUENTE DEL SaLTO 

DiQUE Malet 

DiQUE San Roque 

San Roque Lake 

Typical Estancia, Province of Cordoba 

Church at San Roque 

Cordobese Landscape in the Sierra 

COSQUIN . . .... 

The Hub of Activity of Cosquin 
Street in Cosquin .... 

Fruit and Cake Vendors, Province of Cordoba 

Central of Argentina Railroad Station 

"Delighted" 

North Side of the Plaza . 

Street Scene 

Side Street 

One of the Main Streets 

South Side of the Plaza . 

School Built and Maintained by the Provincial 

Government 
The Capitol, Tucuman 
Street Scene 
Municipal Pawnshop 
A Holiday in Tucuman 
General O'Donnell's Escort of Lancers 
University of Tucuman 
Patio of the University 
Examiners' Board, University of TucumAn 
Bacteriological Laboratory, Experimental Station 

OF Agriculture . 
Interior of the Alberdi Theatre 



xxil 



FACING 
PAGE 

Cigar Factory 6i8 

Fire Engine, TucumAn 620 

The Firemen's Ball ....... 622 

Mausoleum of the Clergymen's Society . . . 624 

Mounted Policeman, TucumAn ..... 626 

A Fortunate Gentleman ...... 628 

Typical Grocery Store, Suburbs of Tucuman . 630 

A Country Cottage 632 

Curious Stone, Province of TucumAn . . . 634 

A Near View of the Same Stone .... 636 

Railroad Station, Salta . . . . . • 644 

A Parade in Salta . . . . . . . 646 

Salta Social Club ....... 648 

Building of the Colonial Type . . . . 650 

Old Cabildo, Salta . . . . . . . 652 

Plaza Hotel 654 

Mitre Street ........ 656 

Bank of the Argentine Nation .... 658 

Provincial Bank, Salta ...... 660 

Ancient Church of La Merced .... 662 

San Martin Park 664 

Penitentiary ........ 666 

Modern Residence, Salta 668 

20TH OF February Monument ..... 670 

Cemetery Scene, Salta 672 

Street Scene in Guemes ...... 674 

View across the Roofs of Salta from Monastery of 

San Francisco ....... 674 

Steers on a Salta Farm ...... 676 

City of San Luis ....... 680 

Railroad Station 682 

Street Scene ......•• 682 



xxiii 



The Capitol, San Luis 
Post-Office, San Luis 
Club and Municipal Theatre 
Court House, San Luis 
Market, San Luis 
Lafinur School . 
Church of Santo Domingo 
pRiNGLEs* Monument . 
Bank of the Argentine Nation 
Alfalfa Field, Environs of San Luis 
One of the Main Streets 
Hacienda about Three Miles East of City of San 
Luis ...... 

Typical Country Scene, Province of San Luis 
Buenos Aires Pacific Railroad Station 
Necochea Street . . . . 

Municipal Theatre .... 

Bank of the Province of Mendoza . 
Plaza San Martin .... 

Spanish Bank of the River Plate . 
Bank of the Argentine Nation 
The Alameda ..... 

Ruins of the Church of Santo Domingo 
Sarmiento Street .... 

Rotunda in West Park 

Wine Industry, Province of JvIendoza 

Wine Industry, Province of Mendoza 

Wine Industry, Province of Mendoza 

Wine Industry, Province of Mendoza 

Lujan Dam, Upper View . . . 

LujAN Dam, Lower View . 

Rio Blanco 



FACING 
PAGE 
684 

686 
688 
690 
692 
694 
696 
698 
700 



XXIV 











FACING 




PAGE 


Baths of Cache uta . . . . . * . 


. 742 


Baths of Cache uta 








. 744 


U SPALL ATA . 








746 


Las Vac as . 








748 


PUENTE DEL InCA 








750 


PUENTE DEL InCA 








752 


PUENTE DEL InCA 








754 


Aconcagua 








756 


Mouth of International Tunnel, Las Cuevas . 


758 


International Tunnel, Las Cuevas . 


760 


The Christ of the A 


NDES 




. 


762 



XXV 



Descriptive, Illustrated Argentina 



IMMIGRANT STATION. 

THIS Ellis Island of Argentina is called 
Hotel de Immigrantes. Here future 
citizens of the Republic are inspected 
upon landing. They are housed and 
fed here at the expense of the government until 
the time comes when they are to be sent to different 
parts of the country, to obtain labor that they have 
been adapted to at home. Their transportation is 
furnished free. This is undoubtedly the most 
laudatory institution in the Republic. 



WATER FRONT OF BUENOS AIRES IN i 



THIS is a photograph of the water front of 
the Argentina metropoHs when its popu- 
lation numbered but 404,000 inhabit- 
ants. Instead of the crude channel cut 
through the mud bank as is here shown, Buenos 
Aires today (191 7) boasts of great stone-walled 
basins equal to but few in existence. The low 
buildings in the background have all been super- 
seded by great edifices and skyscrapers. The 
road in the foreground is now a beautiful park- 
way, the Paseo Colon, adorned with trees and 
flowerbeds. 



DARSENA SUD. 

THIS nomenclature means Southern Basin, 
to distinguish it from the Darsena 
Norte or northern one. Its stone walls 
offer a striking contrast to mud banks 
that flanked the harbor as is shown in the water- 
front picture of Buenos Aires in 1888. 

Most passenger ships from foreign ports enter 
the Darsena Norte, and after lying there for a day 
or two move out to other docks. As a rule they 
sail from Darsena Sud. From Darsena Sud sail 
the Montevideo boats, the steamers that ply 
between Buenos Aires and the River Plate ports, 
as well as those destined up the Parana, Paraguay, 
and Uruguay Rivers. 

The shipping commerce of Buenos Aires is 
growing so rapidly that these basins are hardly 
adequate to take care of it. 



GENERAL VIEW OF BUENOS AIRES. 

THIS photograph was taken from the roof 
of the Plaza Hotel, and gives an idea 
of the roof line of the city looking in 
a southwesterly direction. In the far 
right background appears the attenuated dome of 
the Congressional Building, which dominates by 
its height all the other buildings of the city. 
The large pile at the extreme right background 
is the Colon Theatre which is said to be the 
largest structure of its kind in the world. Directly 
behind it, and also seen in this photograph, are 
the Law Courts. The high tower in the far left 
background is that of the Majestic Hotel. 



MAJESTIC HOTEL. 

THIS, to the writer's notion, is the best 
hotel in South America, and is un- 
excelled as to service, lodgings, and 
cuisine. It is on the Avenida de Mayo, 
the principal boulevard of the city, at the corner of 
Santiago del Estero Street. It was opened in 1910, 
the centenary of Argentine independence, and was 
leased by the Government during the summer 
season of that year for 600,000 pesos ($252,000), 
as an abode for the visiting ambassadors, diplomats, 
and guests of distinction. 

It is a good example of the highest class of 
South American hotel, where the ceilings are high 
and the rooms are large. In this respect the South 
American hostelry is in great contrast with its 
North American prototype, for it is the custom in 
North America nowadays to crowd as many rooms 
into as small a space as is possible. 

The Majestic Hotel has a glass-roofed court- 
yard beginning on the third floor, around which 
run five stories of balconies. It also has a roof 
garden. The tower is surmounted by a gilded 
metal sun, which scintillates when struck by the 
rays of the real sun, and carries its golden reflection 
for a great distance. 



10 




II 



PLAZA HOTEL. . 

THIS is the most famous hotel in South 
America. It was built by the banker, 
Ernesto Tornquist, and is under the 
Ritz-Carlton management. Like most 
Ritz-Carlton hotels, its prices are exorbitant for 
the value received. Its cuisine is excellent, but 
finer rooms for lesser prices can be found in other 
hotels of the Argentina metropolis. Fifty pesos 
($21.00) a day is an ordinary rate at the Plaza for 
two people. This includes a room with two beds, 
vestibule and bath, lunch and dinner, but does not 
include breakfast. 

It is popular during the winter months for pink 
teas, banquets, and dinner parties for the Bonae- 
rense elite. It is also a favorite abode for certain 
North American travelling men, who like to 
impress their prospective clients, never failing to 
mention to the latter that they are stopping at the 
Plaza Hotel. 

The Plaza Hotel is situated on the Plaza San 
Martin, at the end of Florida Street, Buenos Aires' 
most busy retail thoroughfare and opposite to the 
American Embassy. The building is ten stories in 
height and creates a pleasing aspect. 



12 




> ^ 



13 



PARIS HOTEL. 

THIS hotel is situated on the Avenida de 
Mayo and is one of the older first-class 
hotels in the city. It is now about 
twelve years old. On its street floor 
is one of the best restaurants in the city. It has a 
large cafe, and like the hostelries in the French 
metropolis, iron-topped tables are set in front of 
it on the sidewalk, where refreshments are served 
to those who prefer to sit in the open air. 



14 




15 



SPLENDID HOTEL FRASCATL 



T 



HIS is a good type of the better second- 
class hotels of the city. Buenos Aires 
boasts of quite a few of this sort. It is 
located on the Avenida de Mayo. 



i6 




17 



CONGRESSIONAL BUILDING. 

IT is called El Congreso, and is one of the 
handsomest buildings in the world. It is said 
to have cost $20,000,000. It is built of brick 
and faced with white Italian marble. It took 
a long time to complete it, the last stages being 
rendered difficult on account of the scarcity of 
freight carriers caused by the Italo-Turkish War, 
and later by the great European War. 

Although it is a masterpiece, yet the building 
appears low and rather squat on account of its 
large ground area. Two or three more stories 
would have greatly added to its dignity. It is 
surmounted by a tall slender dome which can be 
seen for miles beyond the city limits from the fiat 
plains of the Province of Buenos Aires. 

El Congreso faces the Plaza del Congreso at the 
extreme western end of the Avenida de Mayo. 



18 










.<t^ 



M 




19 



ROOM WHERE CONGRESS MEETS, EL 
CONGRESO. 



20 




21 



LOUNGE ROOM OF THE REPRESENTA- 
TIVES, EL CONGRESO. 

Note the costly furniture. 



22 




23 



CAPITOL BUILDING, WESTERN FACADE. 

THIS building which is the capitol, and 
called Casa de Gobiemo, meaning 
Government House, is generally spoken 
of as the Casa Rosada, or Rose Colored 
House from the stucco of this color which covers 
the bricks of the building. It covers a whole city 
block. Its eastern fagade faces the Colon Park 
and from it makes an imposing appearance, as 
from there it stands upon an eminence. Its 
western fagade is at the extreme eastern end of the 
Plaza de ]\Iayo, the eastern terminus of the syca- 
more bordered Avenida de Alayo, the main 
boulevard of Buenos Aires. 

It is by no means a beautiful building on account 
of its color, which gives it a rather dirty appearance. 



24 



COURTYARD OF THE CAPITOL. 

THE interior of the Casa Rosada, gives 
the visitor a much better impression of 
it than if seen from the outside. The 
court3^ard is bordered by broad tile- 
paved balconies, whose arches are supported by 
Corinthian pillars. 



26 




27 



AUDIENCE ROOM OF THE CAPITOL. 

THIS is the room used on occasions 
of state where the president receives 
his visitors. The present incumbent 
of the executive power is Dr. Victorino 
de la Plaza. 



28 




29 



CUSTOM HOUSE. 

THE custom house, called the Aduana, is 
on the Colon Park, a couple of blocks 
southeast of the Casa Rosada at the 
bottom of the hill and across the 
Avenida del Oeste from the docks. It is a hand- 
some Renaissance building with two tall square 
towers rising above its eastern fagade. 



30 




31 



POST-OFFICE. 

IT is known as the Correo. Not only is it an 
eyesore, but it is a disgrace to the city. This 
photograph gives it a pleasing appearance. 
Dispel the illusion. It is situated at the 
corner of Reconquista and Corrientes Streets, two 
blocks north of the banking section of the city. 
The streets here are for but one direction traffic, 
and the passenger of a vehicle to reach it is forced 
to make detours in order to reach it. As the 
traffic is heavy considerable time is lost in reaching 
it. The building, which is of a dirty gray in color, 
was built to accommodate the public of a much 
smaller city. As the business increases in volume, 
neighboring buildings are leased so that now there 
is no system in its arrangement. 

The corner room in the immediate foreground on 
the street floor is devoted to the sale of postage 
stamps. To mail letters, the person doing so is 
obliged to come out on the street again, and walk 
half a block up Corrientes Street, the thorough- 
fare to the right, and post them in a chute in a 
building leased for that purpose. The General 
Delivery windows are in a building a half-block 
down Reconquista Street, the thoroughfare here 
seen at the left of the photograph. 



32 




33 



LAW COURTS. 

CALLED the Tribunales, and Palacio de 
Justitia. It is a huge Neo-Egyptian 
pile in the business section of the city, 
on the west side of the Plaza Lavalle. 
It is constantly undergoing a process of exterior 
reconstruction, as is seen by the scaffolding in the 
accompanying picture. It is one of the largest 
buildings in Buenos Aires, and has a rather severe 
and frowning appearance. 



34 




35 



CITY HALL. 

IT is known as the Municipalidad. It is a fine 
building on the western end of the Plaza de 
Mayo, at the comer of the Avenida de 
Mayo. It extends northward to Rivadavia 
Street, at which corner the fagade is surmounted 
by a dome crowned by a very tall needle-like 
pinnacle, which is original, if not artistic. The 
building, though modern, is hardly large enough 
to be adequate for a city of the size of Buenos 
Aires. 



36 




o/ 



NATIONAL BOARD OF EDUCATION 
BUILDING. 

WE have no institution like this in the 
United States. This National Board 
of Education controls the universi- 
ties, technical schools, as well as the 
schools of secondary and primary instruction. 



38 




39 



RIVADAVIA SCHOOL. 

THIS is a good example of the exterior 
aspect of a Buenos Aires public school. 
Buildings used for these purposes do 
not stand back from the street in a 
yard like the North American ones, but are 
hemmed in between other buildings. Their appear- 
ance is invariably austere, of solid classical lines, 
which brings to one's mind the impression of a 
courthouse or post-ofQce. 

This school is named in honor of Bernardino 
Rivadavia, President of Argentina, 182 6- 1 82 7. 



40 




41 



A 



ROCA SCHOOL. 

NOTHER example of public school 
building. This is named in honor of 
General Julio Argentino Roca, Presi- 
dent of Argentina, 1 880-1 886. 



42 




43 



BUSINESS COLLEGE. 

IN exterior appearance, there is nothing to 
distinguish this building from any public 
school of Buenos Aires. The standard of 
education in this business college is higher 
than in its prototypes in the United States. 

There are in Argentina, National Institutes. 
These are similar to the French Lycees, combining 
science, literature, and arts, inferior in learning to 
the North American standard universities, but 
superior to the high schools. 



44 




45 



FACULTY OF MEDICINE. 

THIS ultra classical building is commonly 
known by the ghoulish appellation of 
"The Morgue." It derives this non- 
euphonious nickname from the fact 
that cadavers are here dissected by the medical 
students. It is a department of the University of 
Buenos Aires. 



46 




47 



NATIONAL LIBRARY. 

THE Carnegie Foundation recently gave 
this library a present of 20,000 volumes, 
with the proviso that the Argentine 
Government donate one or more rooms 
for them, and that they shall be maintained at the 
expense of the government. 



48 




49 



]\IAIN OFFICE OF LA FRENSA. 

LA PRENSA (The Press) is the world's 
greatest newspaper. It has also a 
branch office in Paris. 

Buenos Aires has many good news- 
papers besides La Prensa. La Nacion has an 
enormous circulation. Newspapers of note are, 
La Razon, La Argentina, Ultima Hora, and La 
Union, besides many others. La Union is con- 
trolled by German capital, and is the mouthpiece 
of pro-Teutonic propaganda. There are also daily 
newspapers printed in many foreign languages, 
including two printed in English, the Standard and 
the Buenos Aires Herald. According to the w^riter 
the last two are not worth the paper they are 
printed on. The two comic weeklies, Fray Moclio 
and Car as y Carretas are equal to Fuck and Judge. 

The president of La Prensa is Dr. Davila, one 
of the world's foremost newspaper men, a financier, 
and a politician of such great importance that he 
can be styled "the man behind the gun." 

The furnishing and equipment of the La Prensa 
office building is most sumptuous; in fact it is 
unparalleled. It has banquet rooms, lounge 
rooms, reading-rooms, and reminds the visitor of 
an elegant club. 



50 




51 



DIRECTORS' ROOAI, LA PRENSA. 

Note the elaborate wood-carvino:. 



52 




53 



BANQUET HALL, LA PRENSA BUILDING. 

THIS room, resplendent with gorgeous 
paintings, is used not only as a banquet 
hall, but is sometimes converted into a 
lecture and entertainment hall, as is 
depicted in this photograph with its regular rows 
of chairs, ready to seat an audience. 



54 




55 



OFFICE BUILDING OF THE CENTRAL 
ARGENTINE RAILWAY. 

THIS great railroad system has its offices 
in the heart of the city. The edifice 
faces the Paseo de JuHo, with the ticket 
office at the comer of the streets, Barto- 
lome ]\Iitre, and 25 de Mayo. 

The station of the Central Argentine Railwa}^ is 
the largest and finest in all South America, and has 
recently been completed. It is situated in the 
section of the city named Retiro. 



56 




57 



ONCE RAILROAD STATION. 

THIS is the station of the Western Rail- 
road. Until the new Central Argentine 
station of Retiro was built Once was 
conceded to be the best railroad station 
in the city. It is situated at the intersection of the 
streets, Pueyrredon and Bartolome Mitre on the 
Plaza Once de Septiembre (nth of September). 
The Plaza Once is about a mile west of the new 
Congressional Building, and is a busy electric car 
center. It is also a station of the subway. 



58 




59 



PLAZA CONSTITUCION RAILROAD 
STATION. 

THIS is the station of the Southern Rail- 
road, the largest railroad system in 
Argentina. Nearly all the lines in the 
republic south of Buenos Aires belong 
to the Southern Railroad. From this station 
leave all trains for Mar del Plata, Bahia Blanca, 
and the towns of the wheat belt in the Province of 
Buenos Aires. 

The Plaza Constitucion is a busy square, a mile 
south of the Avenida de Mayo. 



60 




6i 



THE MATADEROS. 

THIS is the name given to the large 
slaughter house, which in size nearly 
equals those of Chicago. Strange to 
relate, the district that has been built 
up around these mataderos is named Nueva 
Chicago (New Chicago). As Argentina is one of 
the greatest beef producing countries on the globe, 
the mataderos is naturally an extremely busy 
place. 



62 



STOCKYARDS OF THE IMATADEROS, PAR- 
TIAL VIEW. 



64 




65 



SCRAPING ROOM, MATADEROS. 

IN this picture is seen the hide of a steer pulled 
up to the roof by means of a pulley. The 
laborers by means of sharp knives then 
scrape off the fat from the inside of the hide, 
which is made into lard and candles. 



66 




67 



"YOUR TURN NEXT." 

NOTICE the sheep in the pen patiently 
waiting for their turn to be murdered, 
as soon as the workmen have trussed 
up the carcasses of their brethren to 
be taken away. 



68 




69 



GERMAN CLUB. 

ALTHOUGH of the foreigners in Buenos 
Aires, the Germans are outnumbered 
by the ItaHans, Spaniards, EngHshmen, 
Frenchmen, and Russian Jews, never- 
theless they have the finest club house (private). 
They have built their club in the Hanseatic style 
of architecture, which in Buenos Aires offers a 
pleasant contrast to the Italian architecture of the 
majority of buildings. 



70 




/I 



JOCKEY CLUB. 

THIS is the wealthiest ckib in the world. 
It is situated on the east side of Florida 
Street, midway between the Avenida 
de Alayo and the Plaza San Martin. 
Its style of architecture is rococo. Notice the 
blind wall at the extreme left. It also has one at 
the extreme right. These are built for privacy, so 
that the occupants of the neighboring buildings 
cannot be constantly "rubbering," thus freeing 
the members from annoyance. The blind walls 
also add to the appearance of the building. 

The Jockey Club has nearly 2000 members. 
The entrance fee costs 3000 pesos ($1284) while the 
annual dues are $'J2 exclusive of anything. The 
income of the club, largely derived from its race 
track, amounts to $600,000 a 3^ear. The club 
has offered at its own expense to widen some of 
the narrow streets in the congested center of the 
city and to open up new arteries of traffic to do 
away with the congestion. 

There is much electioneering at the election of 
officers of the club. The Presidenc}^ is such a 
great honor and the rivalry is often so keen, that 
the car fares of members who reside in such remote 
corners of the republic as Salta is sometimes paid 
for them to come to cast their vote for their friend 
who covets this honor. 



72 




73 



ATRIUM OF THE JOCKEY CLUB. 

Note the costly and elegant Roman decorations. 



74 




75 



BALCONY AROUND COURTYARD OF 
JOCKEY CLUB. 



76 




77 



DOMINO ROOM OF THE JOCKEY CLUB. 

THIS fine room is devoted to the lovers of 
chess, dominos, cards, and other table 
games. Although poker is played in the 
club, it is done in another room. The 
writer understands that the stakes are moderate. 



78 




79 



DINING-ROOM, JOCKEY CLUB. 

THE cuisine of the Jockey Club is un- 
excelled. 
Most of the personnel are French, 
from the chef to the gargon. 



80 



ENTRANCE TO THE RACE TRACK. 

THE Jockey Club maintains its race track 
in Palermo Park, about one half hour 
by automobile from the center of the 
city. The betting is done by the 
system called ''mutuals." 

The open promenade in this picture is covered 
with small yellow-brown polished pebbles brought 
by train from the seaboard. 

Races take place every Thursday and Sunday 
afternoons. 



82 




83 



GRANDSTANDS OF THE RACE TRACK. 

THESE are the oeuvres of the French 
architect, M. Faure Dujarric. The 
one in the foreground is reserved for 
members only. 
Ladies, unattended, are refused admittance to 
the grandstand. 

At this race track is to be seen the cream of the 
most fashionable dressmakers' art. At no place in 
the universe is such fashion of the latest creations 
seen. It is said that the dernier cri of Paris 
creations are worn in Buenos Aires before the 
French dressmakers put them on the market in 
their own capital. The Jockey Club grandstand 
is the place to see them, especially on Sunday 
afternoons. 



84 



THE ARGENTINE HIPPODROME, 



A 



NOTHER race track of Buenos Aires. 
Here also take place other athletic 
events, such as football, tennis, and 
cricket. 



86 




87 



RACE COURSE, ARGENTINE 
HIPPODROME. 

HORSE races are society events in the 
Argentine metropolis. Here one does 
not need rub shoulders with the low- 
lived touts that congregate around the 
English and North American paddocks. Notice 
the dresses of the ladies and the cylinder hats worn 
by the men. 




89 



RECONQUISTA STREET. 

RECONQUISTA means "reconquest." 
This street was formerly named Piedad 
"piety." It is the banking street of 
Buenos Aires. Many of these banks 
are very large affairs, especially the Bank of the 
Argentine Nation, which has branches in nearly 
every town in the republic. Its president is Dr. 
Manuel de Iriondo. 

Other large banks on Reconquista Street are 
the German Bank of South America, the German 
Overseas Bank, the Bank of London and River 
Plate, the London and Brazilian Bank, and the 
Spanish Bank of the River Plate. 

These bank buildings, although large, are inferior 
to those of New York, and of Montreal. 



90 




91 



PLAZA DE MAYO. 

THIS picture is of the Rivadavia Street 
vside of the Plaza de Mayo, the most 
important plaza of Buenos Aires. The 
view is looking east. The building in 
the left foreground is the cathedral. Note the 
Corinthian capital on smooth columns. This 
cathedral is built somewhat on the st3de of the 
IMadeleine in Paris, although much smaller. Like 
most Catholic churches in Buenos iVires, it is nearly 
always closed, especially when a sightseer wants to 
visit it. 

The last building to the right is the Bank of the 
Argentine Nation, at the corner of Reconquista 
Street. 

This photograph is an old one taken some years 
ago by H. G. Olds, the pioneer photographer. 
Horse cars are here seen. With the exception that 
there are no more horse cars in Buenos Aires this 
photograph could be of the present day, as the 
same buildino^s are standino^. 



92 




93 



AVENIDA DE MAYO. 

THIS is the great boulevard of Buenos 
Aires. It is about one mile in length, 
starting at the Plaza de Mayo and 
terminating at the Plaza Congreso. 
A subway runs its whole length but there are no 
surface cars. This street contains many ''islands" 
in the center like the Parisian boulevards, where 
the pedestrian can find security from the swiftly 
driven vehicles. 

The Avenida de Mayo is the great promenade, 
where rich and poor alike walk by, taking in the 
sights. It teems with cafes, all of which have iron- 
topped tables in front of them on the sidewalk. 
Here sit the students of human nature to while 
away the time, imbibing soft and hard refresh- 
ments while they are being pestered by boot- 
blacks, lottery ticket vendors, flower girls, peddlers, 
stranded bums, and beggars. 

Some of the best hotels in the city are to be 
found on this street, namely, the Majestic, Paris, 
Splendid, Espafia, Esclava, and Gaviezel. The 
shops are of the inferior kind, many being owned 
by Russian Jews. The end of the Avenida here 
depicted is that where it joins the Plaza de Mayo. 
The large building at the near right is the City 
Hall. The edifice adjoining it to the left, and whose 
tower is elaborated by a statue, is that of La 
Prensa. 

In the hazy distance note the faint outlines of 
the Congressional Building. 

94 




95 



BARTOLOME MITRE STREET. 

THIS street parallels the Avenida de 
Mayo two blocks north of it. It is a 
business street devoted to omnifarious 
trades. It is typical of any of the 
streets in the business section of the Argentine 
metropolis. 



96 




97 



FLORIDA STREET. 

NAMED after our state, which at the 
time this street was laid out was a 
colony of Spain. 

This is the Bond Street of Buenos 
Aires. Its buildings are two and three stories 
high. The shops, like in most Latin countries, are 
small, but the displays are grand, as well as the 
prices charged. The street is narrow and after 
five o'clock in the evening no vehicles are allowed 
to pass over it, for then, at the promenade hour, 
it is congested with strollers. On this Calle 
Florida is to be seen more class in dress than on 
the famous Avenida. 



98 




99 



DEFENSA STREET. 

SO called for here were formerly the forti- 
fications to defend the city against an 
attack from the sea. This street runs 
south from the Plaza de Mayo in the 
same position as Reconquista Street runs north 
of it. 



100 




lOI 



TUCUMAN STREET. 

AN Argentine city without its Calle 
Tucuman would be an exception, for it 
is the custom in that country for the 
city streets to be named after the 
provinces, as well as after its patriots and 
presidents. 

Calle Tucuman is the seventh street north of the 
Avenida de Mayo, and runs parallel to it. 

The view in this photograph is looking eastward 
on it from the Plaza Lavalle. The building at the 
left is the Colon Theatre; that to the right is the 
Roca School. 



102 




103 



A BUENOS AIRES MARKET. 



104 




I05 



A CONVENTILLO. 

ACONVENTILLO is the name for a blind 
alley. Many do not exist in the Argen- 
tine metropolis, and they are only to 
be found in the slums. They are the 
abodes of the poorest class of inhabitants and are 
dirty, as can be seen in this photograph. 



1 06 




I07 



AVENIDA ALVEAR. 

THIS is the most beautiful avenue of 
Buenos Aires, the residential street of 
the aristocracy. Next to Fifth Avenue 
in New York, it is doubtful if there 
exists anywhere else in the world such a magnifi- 
cent row of palaces. 



1 08 




I09 



ANOTHER VIEW OF THE BEAUTIFUL 
AVENIDA ALVEAR. 



no 




Ill 



RIVADAVIA STREET, FLORES. 

CALLE RIVADAVIA can justly be called 
the main street of Buenos Aires. It is 
the longest street in the city and bisects 
it from east to west in two nearly equal 
parts. It starts at the water front and continues 
into the Province of Buenos Aires beyond the 
limits of the Federal Capital. It is also the divid- 
ing line of the nomenclatures of its cross streets : — 
for instance, the same street south of it is named 
Salta, north of it, it is named Libertad. The 
Avenida de Mayo parallels it for about a mile, one 
short block to its south. After reaching the Plaza 
Congreso, the subway curves to the north and 
continues under Rivadavia nearly its whole length 
westward to the city limits. 

Calle Rivadavia is very narrow in the downtown 
district, but widens out considerably after the 
Plaza Congreso. 

This photograph is of the street in Flores, now a 
part of Buenos Aires to which it was annexed in 
1887. 



112 




113 



AVENIDA MANUEL MONTES DE OCA. 

THIS is the main street of the district of 
the city named Barracas. Barracas is 
the name given to one of the southern 
parts of the city. Montes de Oca is a 
characteristic principal thoroughfare of a suburban 
district, broad, with rows of sycamore trees planted 
between the sidewalk and the road. 



114 




II: 



PASEO DE JULIO IN i 

THIS photograph by H. G. Olds gives us 
an idea what this street was like 
twenty-nine years ago. As can be here 
seen, ** white wings" existed in Buenos 
Aires at that time. 



ii6 




117 



PASEO DE JULIO, 1907. 

NOTE the great contrast between this 
and the preceding picture. It is the 
same street. The unseemly buildings 
have been replaced by shady boule- 
vards, with fountains, statues, and flowerbeds. 
This statue depicts Indians captured by the 
Spaniards. Its name is ''Captivity." 



118 




119 



STATUE IN THE PLAZA LOREA. 

BUENOS AIRES has rightfully deserved the 
appellation, "The Athens of America.'* 
It abounds in statues and monuments, 
the works of art of Italian sculptors. 
Most of these statues are sculptured in Genoa and 
transported at a great expense to Buenos Aires. 
Rosario with its great Italian colony is rapidly 
coming to the front as a center of sculptural art. 
Many statues and monuments that have been 
placed in the Bonaerense parks and cemeteries in 
late years are the work of Rosarino artists. 

The name of this statue is "The Desire for 
Knowledge.'* 



120 




121 



STATUE OF "DOUBT.' 



npHIS masterpiece is situated in the Plaza San 



Martin. 



122 




123 



STATUE IN PALERMO PARK. 

THIS is a beautiful piece of chiseled marble 
named "Farewell." 



124 




125 



LOLA MORA FOUNTAIN. 



126 




127 



vSTATUE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

THE name of the North American patriot is 
synonymous with hberty, and therefore 
is dear to Argentina hearts in the same 
way as is Bolivar, Sucre, Garibaldi, 
and others. 



128 




129 



LAVALLE MONUMENT. 

THIS monument stands in the Plaza of the 
same name. The building in the left 
background is the Law Courts. The 
street in the center background is 
Tucuman, looking westward. 

Lavalle was an Argentine patriot and was one of 
the six men that ruled the country in conjunction 
between the years 1828 and 1834. 



130 




131 



T 



GARIBALDI STATUE. 

HIS memorial to Giuseppe Garibaldi was 
erected b}^ the Italian colony. Gari- 
baldi once lived in Buenos Aires during 
his adventurous career. 



132 




133 



SAN MARTIN STATUE. 

NO Argentina city is complete without a 
statue dedicated to the memory of 
the Father of Argentine Independence. 
There is scarcely a city in the whole 
republic that does not possess one of these memori- 
als, and also a plaza to the Liberator. San Martin 
was one of the great men of South America, yet 
the custom of attaching his name to the finest park 
and statue in every Argentine city, as well as to 
cocktails, is to the stranger as monotonous as it is 
to the native, patriotic. 

This great general was born in Ybicui, in 
Paraguay. 

The Plaza San Martin is at the end of the Calle 
Florida. On it are the American Embassy, the 
Plaza Hotel, and the gigantic private palaces of 
the families Basualdo, Paz, and Anchorena. The 
last-named one covers a whole city block and is 
seen in the background. 



134 




135 



FRENCH MONUMENT. 

IT is customary in some South American 
cities for each foreign colony to present the 
municipaHty with a monument represent- 
ing the nation from which the colony is 
from. In Buenos Aires, the French monument is 
the best of these. 



36 




137 



ENTRANCE TO THE RECOLETA. 

RECOLETA is the name generally applied 
to the Cementerio del Norte (Northern 
Cemeter}^) and is the favorite burial 
place of the Portefio (Buenos Aires) 
aristocracy. In Argentina and most South Ameri- 
can countries, the wealthy dead are interred in 
vaults; those of the poorer families are buried in 
the ground with a stone slab over their grave, and 
with a cross to mark the headpiece; the very 
poorest are placed in niches in the cemetery walls, 
one on top of another like the catacombs. 



138 




139 



A STREET OF THE DEAD. 

THIS is a typical street in the Recoleta. 
The individual tombs are often costly 
elaborations, many of which are of 
marble, the figures being sculptured by 
artisans of Genoa or of Rosario. To the writer, 
Recoleta seems a most gruesome place, especially 
at midday when it is nearly empty of visitors, and 
the summer sun beats with its blinding glare upon 
the houses of the dead. This lugubrious effect is 
still more enhanced by the presence of black cats, 
which, like evil spirits, dart among the tombstones. 



140 




141 



AYERZA MONUMENT, RECOLETA. 

^HIS is undoubtedly one of the finest works 
of art in the Recoleta. 



142 




143 



JOSE SEMINO VAULT, RECOLETA 

THIS is one of the better class vaults of the 
Recoleta. 



144 




145 



DORREGO ORTIZ BASUALDO TOMB, RE- 
COLETA. 

^ ■ ^HE Basualdo family is one of the wealthi- 
est of Buenos Aires. The final rest- 
ing place of this member of the family 
is the acme of art and originality. 



1 



146 




14: 



SANTO DOMINGO CHURCH. 
This House of God dates from Colonial times. 



148 




149 



SANTA CATALINA DE SENA CHURCH. 



T 



HIS edifice dedicated to the worship 
of the Christian religion likewise dates 
from the Colonial period. 



150 




151 



INTERIOR OF SAN NICOLAS CHURCH. 



T 



HIS church has the most superb in- 
terior decorations of any in Buenos 
Aires. 



152 



^ _ — . 


^ 




^^^^^^^H 


i iHn^^nl^^^^i-- 


_^^^^^^^B/K^^^^^M; '--^-^ 












fWl 


Itil 


Bpitiiiji 










- — -^^ 


--- - -^ ^. ■''-•.■^*^ 



153 



CHURCH OF THE CONCEPCION. 



T 



HIS church is an old-timer. Its exterior 
is plain. It is surmounted by a tile 
dome, with dark blue squares on a 
white background. 



154 




155 



CHURCH OF SAN SALVADOR. 



T 



HIS large church is very popular. It 
is situated on Callao Street not far 
from the aristocratic residential sec- 
tion. 



156 




0/ 



BASILICA OF THE CONCEPCION, BEL- 
GRANO. 



B 



ELGRANO is a suburb of the Argentine 
metropolis, the abode of many EngHsh 
famiHes. This handsome church is near 
the center of the district. 



158 




159 



WHEAT ELEVATORS. 

BUENOS AIRES is one of the great wheat 
ports of the world. From the appear- 
ance of its elevators, one might imagine 
oneself to be in Fort William^ or Duluth. 
Bahia Blanca also has immense wheat elevators, 
the largest in Argentina being located there. 



i6o 




i6i 



BASUALDO PALACE. 

BUENOS AIRES boasts of a few of the 
finest private residences in existence. 
Three of these should take the blue 
ribbon, namely the palatial residences 
of Seiiors Basualdo, Paz, and Anchorena. All 
three are situated on the Plaza San Martin. 

This is the palatial residence of Senor Basualdo. 



162 




i63 



PAZ PALACE. 

THIS palace of Senor Paz is indeed a 
paragon. It much resembles the pal- 
ace of Baron Rothschild in Vienna. 
Take notice of the decorations of the 
chimneys. The Argentino has a knack of spend- 
ing his money to the best advantage. This 
residence is a testimony. 



164 




1 65 



A BUENOS AIRES RESIDENCE. 



T 



HIS house is built in a district of the 
city where one is not cramped too 
much for room. It is more on the 
style of a country home. 



i66 



I 




1 67 



HOUSE OF THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

THIS house was built when Buenos Aires 
was a colony of Spain. Notice its 
humbleness when compared with the 
palatial abodes of today. No doubt 
its occupants were just as happy, as are the high- 
brows who reside at the present time on the Plaza 
San Martin or on the Avenida Alvear. 



i68 




169 



HOME OF THE TYRANT ROZAS. 

THIS rambling building, the home of 
Rozas, has been torn down. It was 
formerly situated in what is now 
Palermo Park. 
Juan Manuel Rozas is one of the most interest- 
ing figures in Argentine history. For seventeen 
years (1835-1852), he was Dictator of Argentina. 
He was overthrown, and took refuge in England, 
where he died in 1877. 



170 




171 



HOUSE WHERE ROZAS WAS BORN. 

IT is still standing. Its location is on the 
western outskirts of Buenos Aires. It is 
a good example of Bonaerense country 
house of the Colonial period. Here in 
1793, Juan Manuel Rozas was born. 



17 



PALERMO PARK. 

THIS is the great park of Buenos Aires, 
likewise the corso of the elite on 
Sunday afternoons. It is a beautiful 
park with great wide drives, artificial 
lakes teeming with black swans, ibis, and other 
aquatic birds, with palms, and trees of the temper- 
ate zone, with beautiful flowerbeds and shrubs. 
On its benches, at dusk, lovers hold their amours. 
It is well policed, and patrolled, and although there 
seems to be no speed limit as to automobiles, there 
is rarely an accident. 



174 




175 



ARTIFICIAL LAKE IN PALERMO PARK, 
Note the swans both black and white. 



176 




177 



LLAMAS AT THE ZOOLOGICAL GARDEN. 

THE zoological garden at Buenos Aires 
is an institution that every Portefio 
should be proud of. A zoologist of the 
Smithsonian Institute told the writer 
that no other zoological garden in the world is 
in the same class with that of Buenos Aires. The 
writer has visited many zoological gardens and 
agrees with what he was told by the Smithsonian 
zoologist. There is an excellent zoological garden 
at La Plata. It has for years been the custom, 
when two animals of the same species are presented 
to the garden at Buenos Aires to send one to La 
Plata. 

The vile animals in the picture are Uamas or 
Peruvian sheep. When approached too closely 
it is their mean habit to spit an evil smelling fluid 
on the person. They likewise delight in urinating 
on the unsuspecting stranger. 



178 




179 



"NUMA" AND "SABOR." 

THE lion house swelters on a summer 
day. The lions on such occasions 
approach the bars to get a breath 
of fresh air. Some of these felines are 
remarkable specimens. 



i8o 




I8i 



ITINERANT CIGAR VENDOR. 

THIS class of people, the majority being 
of Italian birth or extraction, pay but a 
small license for the privilege of toting 
a kit. They mostly ply their wares 
in the district named Boca, at the docks and 
under the arcades of the Paseo de Julio, where 
Italians and seamen resort. Their wares are 
vile, and many of the so-called Toscanas are but 
spurious imitations manufactured locally. This 
"Dago" carries a pouch for his change. 



182 



FjF^ 





183 



PEDDLERS OF BREAD AXD VEGETABLES. 

THESE men go from door to door ha^idng 
their wares. Their approach is herald- 
ed by loud cries. As a rule they are 
the employed agents of petty mer- 
chants, and get a commission on their sales. 
]Men engaged in this business are mostly 
Levantines, Greeks, Syrians, and Turks. 



184 




1 85 



GARLIC AND ONION PEDDLER. 

THIS type of itinerant vendor represents 
the lowest type of immigrant — the Rus- 
sian Jew. Not only is lower Fifth 
Avenue, New York, a paradise for this 
species of Kike, but they have recently found that 
Buenos Aires is a suitable place to install their 
inborn filthy habits. There is a veritable colony 
of Russian and Galician Jews on the Calles Ombu 
and Junin. The older specimens of the race wear 
corkscrew sideburns, and the only time they 
get their faces washed is when it rains on them. 



i86 




i87 



TYPICAL BAR, BUENOS AIRES. 

THOUGH it is seldom that one sees a 
drunken Argentino on the streets in 
Buenos Aires, yet he is by no means a 
teetotaler, as can be brought to evi- 
dence by the myriads of bars that exist in the 
Argentine metropolis. The Argentino takes his 
drinks seated, and like the European he takes 
his time to imbibe them, relishing each swallow. 
Thus while bars exist everywhere, they are em- 
ployed mainly as service bars, where the mixolo- 
gist concocts and mixes the imbibation, and where 
the white-aproned waiter sets his tray while wait- 
ing for the libation. Soft drinks are drunk as 
much as are alcoholic ones, the favorites of this 
nature being grenadine, strawberry, or rasp- 
berry syrup to which is added carbonated water 
and ice. As in the United States, they are par- 
taken of through a straw. 

The bar in the photograph (taken by H. G. Olds) 
is that in the Rotisserie Sportsman, a restaurant 
of Epicurean delights. 



i88 



THE RIACHUELO. 

THIS is the name given to the Matanzas 
River at the districts Barracas and 
Boca. It flows into the River Plate 
at Boca, and on it anchor many trans- 
atlantic freighters. Its banks are lined with sail 
boats which have come from the up-river ports. 
The Riachuelo always presents an animated 
scene. On the south side is the municipality of 
Avellaneda, quite distinct from Buenos Aires. 



190 




191 



T 



THE RIACHUELO. 

HIS photograph shows the bridge be- 
tween the Buenos Aires district of 
Barracas and the town of Avellaneda, 
which is seen at the right. 



192 




193 



STATUE OF AVELLANEDA, A\^LLANEDA. 

THE town and commune of Avellaneda, 
lie directly south of Buenos iVires across 
the Riachuelo from the district named 
Barracas, and had a population of 146, 
415 inhabitants in 191 5. Avellaneda is a rough 
place, and has a bad name, on account of the 
many tough characters residing there. 

Avellaneda is named in honor of an Argentine 
president. Dr. Nicolas Avellaneda, ^Yhose beauti- 
ful statue here appears as a tribute to his memory 
from a loving public. He was Chief Executive of 
Argentina from 1874 ^o 1880. 



194 




195 



PROVINCE OF BUENOS AIRES. 

AN Argentine province is a geographical 
and political division corresponding to 
one of our states. They vary greatly 
in size, and are divided into numerous 
departments equivalent to our counties. Each 
province has its capital where the legislature 
meets. The central government does not hold 
as much power over the provinces as ours does 
over our states, thereby making each province 
more autonomous. 

The Province of Buenos Aires, which should 
not be confounded with the city of that name 
(each being a totally different political division) is 
the largest province of the republic, having an 
area of 117,821 square miles. It is about the 
size of New Mexico, twice the size of either Michi- 
gan or Florida, and 9000 square miles larger than 
the combined area of all the New England States 
and New York. In 191 5 its population numbered 
2,048,786 inhabitants. 

The larger portion of the province presents the 
aspect of a large treeless plain, given up to the 
cultivation of wheat and to the grazing of live 

196 



1 



stock. This plain which rises at the rate of three 
feet a mile as it runs westward, to the eye appears 
to be a perfectly level monotony. In the southern 
part of the province are a series of high hills, barren 
and rolling, whose culminating peak is the Sierra 
de Tandil, 1476 feet high. There are numerous 
small rivers and creeks, all flowing sluggishly, on 
account of the trivial variation in altitudes of the 
pla,in, and it is in the neighborhood of these that 
are to be found practically the only trees in the 
province not planted by the hands of man. They 
form a fringe along the river banks. In the south- 
eastern and eastern parts of the province we may 
make an exception, for here and there on the land- 
scape, a great distance apart from each other, grew 
single trees, large, and shady, and visible for 
miles, the ombu, whose wood is worthless, and 
whose only excuse for usefulness is that, under- 
neath their spreading foliage, they afforded a 
pleasant shade for the Gaucho to take his siesta. 

The province has a coast line of 900 miles on the 
Atlantic and on the River Plate. It has no good 
harbors. An artificial basin has been built at 
Ensenada, the port of La Plata, and a naval 
harbor has been built at Puerto Belgrano. Bahia 
Blanca has a harbor, its port town being named 
Ingeneiro White, from which large shipments of 
grain are exported. 

The province is well supplied with railroads, of 
which there are ten different companies operating. 
The chief one of these, which also is the leading 

197 



railway of Argentina, is the Ferrocarril Sud (South- 
ern Railway). It networks the province of 
Buenos Aires with its antennse. 

La Plata is the capital of the province, and is 
likely to remain so. Two other cities are covetous 
of that honor, Bahia Blanca, the great wheat port, 
and Mar del Plata, the summer resort. 



198 



COUNTRY HOUSE, PROVINCE OF BUENOS 
AIRES. 

THESE countr}' scenes are photographs 
from different estancias in the Province 
of Buenos Aires. The great majority 

of Argentine millionaires made their 
money from cattle raising or from wheat. Land 
was cheap, the pastures good, and the climate 
such that cattle could roam in the open the whole 
year around. To-day, as land is comparatively 
expensive, no great fortimes are going to be made 
through these occupations as formerly. IMany 
of the great stockmen reside in Buenos Aires, and 
make several annual visits to their estancias. 
Some of these have fine country" dwellings, where 
the proprietor sojourns during his visit. The 
x\rgentine estanciero is a true lord, and lives in a 
regal wsly. 

The house in this photograph is a good type of 
better class ranch house. 



200 




201 



COUNTRY HOUSE, PROVINCE OF BUENOS 
AIRES. 



202 




203 



ESTANCIA ^'SAN JACINTO." 

THE owner of this estancia is so opulent 
that he can afford to have his private 
chapel on his ranch, where the priest 
comes Sundays to hold mass for the 
laborers. This tree-bordered foot-path leads to 
the country house. To the right can be seen the 
chapel. 



204 




205 



s 



ESTANCIA "SAN FERNANDO." 

OME of the country seats of Argentine 
millionaires are chateaux. San Fernando 
is one of the finest in the republic. 



206 




mm 




207 



ESTANCIA "LOS REMEDIOS." 



208 




209 



ESTANCIA "SANTA CATALINA." 



2IO 




211 



ESTANCIA "VILLA ELISA." 

THIS country seat is situated on the 
Southern Railroad a short distance 
north of La Plata. The estate abounds 
with groves of eucalyptus trees, has 
broad allies of shade trees, and has a park with 
numerous statues. A creek flows through the 
estate and on a pier in the middle of it, stands the 
statue of a nude goddess. 



212 




213 



ESTANCIA "EL SOCORRO." 

THE estancia El Socorro is in the north- 
ern part of the Province of Buenos 
Aires, near the boundary Hne of the 
Province of Santa Fe. It is on the 
Central Argentina Railroad, i6i miles north of 
the city of Buenos Aires, and i8 miles north of 
Pergamino. 

The soil here is rather sandy, as can be seen by 
the pines, hemlocks, and agaves in this photo- 
graph. 



214 




215 



FLOCK OF SHEEP ON "EL SOCORRO. 



216 




217 



SHEEP ON AN ESTANCIA, PROVINCE OF 
BUENOS AIRES. 



218 



I 




219 



ARGENTINE SHEEP. 



220 




221 



GUANACOS ON AN ESTANCIA. 

THOUGH guanacos are raised in Pata- 
gonia for their wool, it is done nowhere 
else in Argentina. These guanacos in 
the photograph are raised through the 
whim of a rich proprietor. 



222 




223 



ESTANCIA "CURUMALAN." 

THESE are some of the stables on the 
great stud farm of Curumalan. Curu- 
malan is in the Department of Suarez,. 
315 miles southwest of Buenos Aires, 
and 85 miles north of Bahia Blanca, on a branch 
line of the Southern Railroad. The surrounding 
country is hilly, bleak, and devoted to the produc- 
tion of wheat. 



224 




225 



ESTANCIA "LA NEGRETA." 

^HIS is a stud farm. The brood mares here 
shown are Clydesdales. 



226 




22- 



ESTANCIA "VILLATE OLAGUER." 



T 



HIS is one of the largest stud farms in 
Argentina. Many famous race horses 
have come from here. 



228 




229 



OMBU TREE ON ESTANCIA "VILLATE 
OLAGUER." 

THIS is a line photograph of the great 
tree, the ombu, whose wood is worth- 
less but which gives cool shade in the 
blazing midday of the Argentine campo. 
This tree is indigenous to Argentina. 



!30 




231 



BULL STABLE ON AN ARGENTINE 
ESTANCIA. 

"^HIS is a type of better class bull stable on an 
estancia in the Province of Buenos Aires. 



232 




233 



PRIZE BULL, PROVINCE OF BUENOS 
AIRES. 



234 




235 



DAIRY FARM, ESTANCIA ''TAMBO LA 
FLORIDA." 

The cows in this picture are Durhams. 



236 




237 



DAIRY COWS, ESTANCIA " CONSTITU- 
CION." 

THESE milch cows are of various breeds, 
the majority being mongrels. Their 
cream is sent to La Martona creamery, 
while the milk is used to feed the calves, 
and to supply the families of the laborers. 



^38 




239 



HEREFORD CATTLE AT ESTANCIA "LA 
FIDELA." 



240 




241 



PRIZE CATTLE AT AN ARGENTINE 
FAIR. 

NOTE the size and majestic appearance of the 
bulls. 



242 




243 



RANCH OF THE FRIGORIFICO "LA 
BLANCA." 

A FRIGORIFICO is a cold storage and 
meat packing plant. Many have their 
own ranches. On some of these large 
ranches, in the central and western 
parts of the Province of Buenos Aires, are countless 
thousands of cattle. This photograph gives an 
excellent likeness of an Argentine landscape in its 
natural state. 



244 



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245 



T 



A TROPERO. 

HIS is the name given to the vocation of 
the bewhiskered gentleman in this photo- 
graph. Tropero means cowboy. 



246 




247 



T 



GAUCHOS. 

HESE are cowbo3^s. They do the same 
functions as do their prototypes in North 
America. 



248 




249 



p 



PLOWING SCENE. 

LOWING in Argentina is done mostly b}^ 
oxen, although in some of the larger 
estates it is done by steam. 



250 




251 



THE RETURN FROM THRESHING. 



252 




253 



T 



STRAW STACKS. 

HESE are not haystacks, but wheat 
straws after the grain has been threshed. 
They are baled, and shipped away as 
bedding for stock. 



^54 




255 



BRINGING WHEAT TO THE RAILROAD 
ESTANCIA "SAN PASCUAL." 



256 




257 



SACKS OF WHEAT AT AN ARGENTINE 
RAILROAD STATION. 



T 



HESE mountainous sacks of wheat are 
awaiting the arrival of a freight train 
to take them to Bahia Blanca or to 
Buenos Aires to be shipped to Europe. 



258 




259 



PULPERIA "EL OMBU." 

THIS is a typical pulperia (store) of 
the Argentine campo (plain). The 
storekeeper sells such necessities to 
the Gauchos as wax, leather thongs, 
candles, soap, smoked meat, and matches, and lux- 
uries such as vile cigarettes, warm beer, and fiery 
liquor. The pulperia is a rendezvous of the 
Gauchos, who in idle times come thither to spin 
their yarns and to sing songs of the campo. To 
the right of the photograph is a giant ombu tree, 
which gives the name to this pulperia. Its 
branches and twigs are destitute of leaves, they 
having been devoured by the locusts, which pest 
frequently assails agricultural Argentina, doing 
millions of pesos' worth of damage. 



260 




26 1 



PLAZA AND CHURCH AT QUILMES. 

QUILMES is a city of 15,000 inhabitants 
on the Southern Railroad, eleven miles 
south of Buenos Aires. It is also con- 
nected with that city by trolley cars. 
Quilmes owes its importance to the fact that 
here is located the largest brewery in South 
America, the Argentine Brewery. This brewery 
has a paid-up capital of $3,852,000. Its stockhold- 
ers are mostly Englishmen, and many people of 
this nationality are employed in it. Besides 
this, Quilmes has quite a large British colony. 
The beer manufactured here is so vile that it 
baffles description, yet it seems to have a large 
sale. 

There is a beach near Quilmes, where bathers 
disport in the waters of the River Plate. 



262 




263 



LA PLATA. 

LA PLATA, the capital of the Province of 
Buenos Aires, is built on a plain about 
thirty miles south of the city of Buenos 
Aires, and five miles from the River 
Plate, where it has its port, Ensefiada de Barragan. 
In 1880, when the city of Buenos Aires was 
detached from the province, it became necessary 
to have a new provincial capital. Plans of the 
present city of La Plata were drawn; they were 
approved of July 5, 1882, and the city was founded 
November 29th of the same year. In 1885, 
the population of the city was 13,869 inhabitants. 
In 1909, it had grown to 95,126, and in 191 5 when 
the last census was taken La Plata had 111,401 
inhabitants, it being the fourth city of Argentina. 
The population of the commune was 136,026, that 
of Avellaneda alone having a larger population. 
La Plata is laid out much after the plan of 
Washington, with square blocks which are divided 
into segments by broad avenues running at various 
angles. The ordinary streets have a uniform 
width of 55J^ feet. La Plata, being so near to 
Buenos Aires, is a dull, sleepy town, a nice place 

264 



to go for a rest. Some of its government buildings 
are remarkable for their size and beauty. The 
museum, far-famed, contains the finest anthropo- 
logical and palaeontological collection in the South- 
ern Continent. La Plata boasts of a beautiful 
park, a university, and an avenue shaded with the 
largest eucalyptus trees in South America. The 
leading hotel is the Sportsman. The houses are 
low, which gives the visitor the impression that the 
thirty broad avenues are broader than they really 
are. 

The city is connected with Buenos Aires by 
several railroads, and has an excellent train service 
with the Federal Capital. 



26.S 



RAILWAY STATION. 

THIS beautiful building, the property of 
the Southern Railroad, is situated near 
the northern end of the city. Its 
architect was M. Faure Dujarric, a 
Frenchman, whose masterpieces are the grand- 
stands of the Jockey Club at Palermo Park, 
Buenos Aires. This railway station is built of 
brick, and covered with white stucco. Its dome 
is of green tile, with ribs of white. Its restaurant 
is said to be the best in the city. 



266 




267 



CASA DE JUSTICIA. 
This is the Provincial Court House. 



268 




269 



I 



LEGISLATURE. 

N this large building, the provincial congress 
holds session. This photograph is a side view. 



270 




271 



T 



CAPITOL. 

HIS building is built of red brick, with cream- 
colored stucco facings. It is very imposing. 



272 




273 



CITY HALL. 

THIS fine building with its tall tower, 
which is a landmark from the open 
plains that surround the city, is situ- 
ated on a large plaza at the western 
end of the business section of La Plata. 



274 




275 



PARK, LA PLATA. 

THIS park, one of the loveliest in Argen- 
tina, is located near the eastern city 
limits. It is bordered on the east by 
the avenue of giant eucalyptus trees. 
The park contains an artificial lake on whose 
waters disport aquatic fowl. There are grottoes 
of imitation stone, flowerbeds of crimson and 
yellow cannas, and a cafe, where refreshing drinks 
are sold. 



276 




2-]-] 



LA PLATA VIEWS. 



NORMAL SCHOOL. 



BANK OF THE PROVINCE OF BUENOS 
AIRES. 



278 





279 



LA PLATA VIEWS. 



OLD RAILWAY STATION. 



THIS is now empty and abandoned although it 
stands in the center of the city. 



STATUE OF SAN MARTIN. 

TN the background is the front of the Legis- 
-*- lature. 



280 





28 1 



MAR DEL PLATA. 

THIS city of 28,:^82 inhabitants is the 
Trouville of Argentina. It is the 
most fashionable seashore resort in 
the Western Hemisphere. It wonld be 
incongruous to compare it either with Newport 
or with Atlantic City. The first mentioned city, 
the residential place of wealthy families, and the 
last mentioned one, the great playground of the 
Atlantic States, are in an entirely different classi- 
fication than Argentina's Trouville. 

Mar del Plata is the great show place where, 
during three summer months, Argentina's highest 
society come to enjoy themselves, and to parade 
daily along the Rambla, the cynosure of curious 
eyes. Here, dressed in the latest Paris creations, 
beautiful girls of marriageable age promenade 
arm in arm, underneath the porticos of the build- 
ings, conscious of the amorous glances cast at 
them by longing men, and also conscious of their 
beauty, and of the pleasing effect their good taste 
in expensive dress produces. These are the girls 
that in a few years will be matrons of Buenos Aires 
society, and they are promenading to-day so that 

282 



their charms will not pass by unnoticed, but 
instead will act as a lure to the men they have 
their heart set on. In fact, this Rambla is the 
great human fair, represented by only the highest 
notch in society, ambassadors, presidents of South 
American republics, rich estancieros, sugar-cane 
planters, railroad and bank presidents, idle rich, 
wealthy business men, their wives, bepearled and 
bediamonded dowagers, remarkably beautiful 
girls, and handsome young matrons of the 
aristocracy. 

Mar del Plata is also represented by another 
class of people. For instance in Cordoba or Men- 
doza, if a family of no great means, but if ambitious 
of social or financial embetterment, wishes to marry 
off a marriageable daughter to their and her 
advantage. Mar del Plata is the place they bring 
her to, even if during the winter months they are 
obliged to stint themselves of the very necessities 
of life, in order to have the cash to make a showing 
at this summer resort. 

Although many of the perennial have here their 
summer chalets and villas, yet much of the social 
life of the city centers around the Hotel Bristol, 
a sumptuous affair, and to the visitor, the most 
expensive one in South America. In its corridors, 
the social elite of the republic congregate to prom- 
enade, stand in groups to gossip, and adjourn to 
the cafe to indulge in a dish of ice cream, a refresco, 
or a vermouth frappe. If it is not to the cafe, they 
hie to the casino, where they indulge in roulette, 

283 



as this is one of the few places in Argentina where 
there is a gambHng Hcense. 

Mar del Plata is the seat of the Department of 
General Pueyrredon. It is on the Atlantic Ocean, 
249 miles south of Buenos Aires, a seven hours' 
trip by express train on the Southern Railroad. 
It has a fine sandy beach, and although surf bath- 
ing is indulged in, the water is really too cool for 
enjoyment. It must be remarked that the great 
majority of visitors do not come to Mar del Plata 
for delectation in this exercise. The name of the 
town translated into English is "Silvery Sea." 
The ocean at this place abounds in fish, which are 
daily shipped in large quantities to Buenos Aires. 

A decade and a half ago, where the city now 
stands, was a hamlet among the sand dunes. Some 
real estate sharks launched a scheme to sell the 
land, and by dint of perse verant advertising, 
enticed the people to come here. A gambling 
concession was given, and, as the Latin is a natural 
bom gambler, the lure proved attractive. There 
w^as a scarcity of potable water, but this difficulty 
was finally overcome by the sinking of deep wells. 
The season of the early months of 191 6 has been 
the most prosperous in the history of the city. 
The European conflagration prevented many of 
the wealthy families from visiting the European 
spas, so instead they repaired for the season to 
Alar del Plata. 



284 



FISHING BOATS AT MAR DEL PLATA. 



T 



HESE sail boats are being dragged ashore, 
so that the day's catch can be sorted to 
be sent to Buenos Aires. 



286 




287 



THE STRAND. 

A GOOD likeness of the Playa, as is called 
the sandy beach of Mar del Plata. In 
the right foreground, underneath the 
building with the two domes, is the 
Rambla, the great promenade. To the left and 
in the center on the top of the sand dune are the 
chalets of the rich. 



288 





289 



LA PERAL. 

THIS semicircular cove is lined with bath- 
houses. A board walk, elevated above 
the beach, passes in front of their second 
story. The bather descends to the 
water by means of steps, and comes out beneath 
the board walk. 



290 




291 



CHURCH, MAR DEL PLATA. 

THIS handsome Gothic church affords an excel- 
lent place for pious meditation. 



292 




293 



BUST OF HUMBERT I. 

THE Italian colony in Mar del Plata is 
considerable and they have paid tri- 
bute to the memory of their assassi- 
nated king by erecting this bust. 



294 




295 



MAR DEL PLATA CLUB. 



296 




297 



I 



HOTEL BRISTOL AND CASINO. 

N connection with this sumptuous hotel is a 
casino, where the roulette wheel offers at- 
tractions to the guests. 



298 




299 



DINING-ROOM, HOTEL BRISTOL. 



T 



HE uncovered tables which can be spread 
at a minute^s notice, are where sit the 
clientele who wish only a coffee or a drink. 



300 




301 



ANNEX OF THE HOTEL BRISTOL. 

THE Hotel Bristol not being large enough 
to house all the guests, this annex has 
been built to take care of them. It is 
one of the few buildings in Argentina 
built on Old English lines. 



302 




303 



H 



THE RAMBLA. 

ERE and under the porticoes of the 
buildings here shown, promenade the 
great human show that makes Mar 
del Plata so popular. 



304 






305 



CORDOBA STREET. 

THIS is the main business street of Mar 
del Plata. Note the modernity of 
the edifices. The domed building in 
the left background is a branch of the 
Bank of the Argentine Nation. 



306 




307 



BALANCING STONE, TANDIL. 

THE city of Tandil, population 15,000, lies in 
a mountainous region, 208 miles south- 
west of Buenos Aires. These mountains 
are low, but rocky, the highest altitude 
being only 1476 feet above the sea level. The 
country is very rough, and teems with giant bowl- 
ders. The most famous of these was the renowned 
rocking stone, v/hich balanced itself on the stone 
outcrop of the mountain every time the wind blew. 
This phenomenon was world famous, and the 
inhabitants of Tandil reaped a harvest from the 
money of the tourists who came to inspect this 
freak of Nature. 

February 29, 191 2, through some unknowr 
cause, it lost its equilibrium and rolled down the 
mountainside, much to the chagrin of the inhabit- 
ants of Tandil, who at first attributed the catas- 
trophe to the malice of certain persons, and came 
near instituting criminal action. Scientists, how- 
ever, stated that it lost its equilibrium through 
natural causes, as this would happen sooner or 
later. Funds were collected to have the stone 
replaced in its old position, but this scheme was 
given up, as it was found to be impracticable. 



308 




309 



PLAZA COLON, AZUL. 

AZUL, a city with about 20,000 inhabit- 
ants, is on the Southern Railroad, 
181 miles southwest of Buenos Aires, 
in the heart of a rich stock-raising 
countr}^ It was founded in 1832 by Colonel 
Pedro Burgos. The name Azul means "blue"; 
there previously w^as an Indian hamlet here named 
Callvu, which also means blue. 



310 




311 



PLAZA COLONEL OLAVARRIA, 
OLAVARRIA. 

OLAVARRIA is 208 miles southwest of 
Buenos Aires on the main line of the 
Southern Railroad. It is today a city 
of about 28,000 inhabitants and is 
named in honor of Colonel Olavarria. 



312 





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313 



CHURCH OF SAN JOSE, OLAVARRIA . 

THIS imposing House of God with its 
twin towers is quite a landmark, as it 
can be seen for a considerable distance 
from the surrounding country. Its 
originality of architecture makes it so well known, 
that the average educated Argentino picking up a 
book with its illustration in it, can tell right off 
what it is without looking at the words. 



314 




315 



CHICLANA STREET, BAHIA BLANCA. 

THIS is one of the main streets of Bahia 
Blanca, and is named after Chiclana 
who, with Passo and Sarratea, formed 
the triumvirate that ruled Argentina, 
1811-1814. 

This city with 65,000 inhabitants is 447 miles 
southwest of Buenos Aires on the Southern Rail- 
road, being one of the termini of the main line. Its 
growth has been phenomenal during the past 
decade; in 1903 its estimated population was 
11,600. Bahia Blanca is the great wheat port of 
Argentina, being the natural outlet. It also has a 
military harbor at Puerto Belgrano, besides the 
commercial one at Ingeneiro White where the 
large grain elevators are located. 

The city has broad streets, paved with tarred 
creosote blocks, and many handsome buildings, 
but a strong wind is apt to be blowing which 
chills one to the very marrow, and blows dust into 
one's eyes. The surrounding country is not 
pleasing to the eyes on account of the sand hills 
and the paucity of vegetation. The water supply, 
formerly brackish and unhealthy, has now given 
place to an admirable system which conveys fresh 
water from the Sauce Grande, fifty miles away. 

Bahia Blanca has a good hotel, the Sud Ameri- 
cano, owned by the Southern Railroad, and a 
new railroad station. Among the foreigners here 
settled are many Basques. 

316 



1 




317 



PLAZA RIVADAVIA. 

^HIS is the largest plaza in Bahia Blanca. It 
is really too large and shadeless for beauty. 



318 




319 



I 



ALSINA STREET. 

T is named after Valentin Alsina, President of 
the Province of Buenos Aires, 1 857-1 859. 
It is one of the main streets of Bahia Blanca, 
and crosses the other main street, Chiclana. 



320 




321 



TIGRE. 

IT is South America's Henley and is 21 miles 
north of Buenos Aires, where the las 
Conchas River enters the River Plate at 
the lower end of the Parana River delta. 
Tigre derives its name (Tiger) from the fact that 
a huge wildcat was once caught here on one of the 
floating islands which are common to this delta. 
It had probably been borne by the current of the 
Parana from the Chaco or Paraguay. 

Not only is Tigre the great pleasure boating 
resort, but it is also a favorite place for the inhabit- 
ants of Buenos Aires to spend their week-ends. 
There are many fine villas here, the summer homes 
of the wealthy. The town has good stores, and 
its streets present an animated scene. The Hotel 
Tigre is a fine modern estabhshment. 



322 




323 



OPEN-AIR DINING-ROOM, HOTEL TIGRE. 

OWING to the almost perfect, yet very 
hot, summer climate, it is advisable 
to spend as much time out of doors 
as is possible. Many of the provincial 
hotels have outdoor dining-rooms, which can be 
immediately covered over with canvas in case of 
a sudden shower. 



324 




325 



COUNTRY STORE, ZARATE. 

THIS is a typical country store of the 
campo small town. It is the congre- 
gating place for the farmers. 

Zarate is, however, a long straggling 
town, of about 10,000 inhabitants, 58 miles north 
of Buenos Aires, the junction of the main line of 
the Central Argentina Railroad with the Central 
of Buenos Aires Railroad. It has a naval arsenal, 
and a meat-canning establishment. It was founded 
in 1 801, and named after the sixteenth-century 
explorer, I^ernando de Zarate. 



326 




327 



s 



CITY HALL, SAN PEDRO. 

AN PEDRO is a city of 24,000 inhabitants, 
107 miles north of Buenos Aires on the 
main Hne of the Central Argentina Rail- 
road. 



328 




329 



CHURCH AT SAN PEDRO. 



330 




331 



CITY HALL AND COURTHOUSE, 
MERCEDES. 

MERCEDES is a city of 30,000 inhabi- 
tants, 61 miles west of Buenos 
Aires. It is a railroad center, the 
Western, the Buenos Aires Pacific, 
and the General Railways of Buenos Aires Pro- 
vince, crossing each other here. The city has 
many settlers of Irish extraction. 



33^ 




333 



I 



25TH STREET, MERCEDES. 

T is an unusual thing for an Argentine city 
to have its streets numbered instead of 
named. Mercedes and La Plata are ex- 
ceptions to this rule. 



334 




335 



CHURCH AT AIERCEDES. 



336 




337 



CENTRAL ARGENTINA RAILV\rAY STA- 
TION, PERGAMINO. 

PERGAAIINO is 143 miles northwest of 
Buenos Aires, in the northern part of the 
Province of Buenos Aires. It is the junc- 
tion of three railroads : the Central Argen- 
tina, the Western, and the General Railways of 
Buenos Aires Province. Its population is 43,000 in- 
habitants, among whom are many Italians. It is a 
good market town, although the soil is rather thin 
and sandy where the city stands. The pine trees 
in the Plaza de Alayo have attained a great height. 
Pergamino has a good hotel, the Roma, where, 
strange to relate, one can get a room with bath. 



338 




.39 



VIEWS OF PERGAMINO. 



SAN NICOLAS STREET, SHOWING HOTEL 
ROMA ON THE RIGHT 



SAN NICOLAS STREET, LOOKING SOUTH 



340 





341 



VIEWS OF PERGAMINO. 



SIDE STREET IN PERGAMINO. 



PLAZA— 25 DE IMAYO. 



34- 





343 



THE PROVINCE OF SANTA FE. 

THIS long and narrow province, which 
extends from the meridian 28° south 
to meridian 34^ south has an area 
of 50,916 square miles, which is nearly 
equivalent to that of Alabama. Its population 
numbered according to the Census of 1914, 
1,111,426 inhabitants, making it rank the second 
of all the provinces. 

Topographically it belongs to the pampa, its 
southern and central regions being a vast, monoto- 
nous, treeless plain. To the north a scrub growth 
appears on the prairie, which as the Territory of 
the Chaco is approached becomes a jungle wilder- 
ness of forest intermingled with grassy prairies 
and swamps. The eastern boundary is the Parana 
River with its innumerable channels, forming a 
network of marshy islands. The banks of these 
channels are covered with a fringe of trees. Santa 
Fe is fairly well watered by the numerous tribu- 
taries of the Parana, chief among which are the 
Salado, and the San Javier Rivers, but so level is 
the land, that these waterways fail to drain it 
properly. There is a stratum of salt not many 

344 



feet beneath the surface of the soil, which makes 
many of the driven wells brackish. The rainfall 
is ample, especially in the north, so that irrigation 
is unnecessary. The climate is warm, and in 
summer hot. 

Santa Fe is the great corn province as Buenos 
Aires is the great wheat province, but stock-raising 
is also an important industry. There are a few 
small hardwood lumber mills in the north, and in 
time dyewoods are bound to become an important 
industry as well as tannic acid, which can be 
extracted from the bark of the quebracho tree. 
Nine different railroad systems have lines in the 
province, the most important of which is Central 
Argentina. 

The chief city is Rosario, the second in Argen- 
tina. Santa Fe is the capital. Other important 
places are Casilda, Cafiada de Gomez, Galvez, Es- 
peranza. Vera, Rafaela, and Reconquista. 



345 



THE SANTA FE CAMPO. 

THIS flat, treeless landscape is typical of 
the western part of the Province of 
Santa Fe. Vast prairies extend for 
miles and miles as far as the eye can see. 
No expense is needed for the clearing of land. It 
is already for the plow. The two shacks are those 
of a new settler. He will plant poplar or eucalyp- 
tus trees around the spot where they now stand, 
and when he has made money through stock- 
raising or through cereals, will build a substantial 
home. 



34^ 




347 



PLOWING VIRGIN SOIL. 

A2I-DISC Garr-Scott plow is used on this 
black soil. 



348 




349 



TYPICAL RANCH. 

THIS humble abode is in the northern 
part of the Province of Santa Fe. Its 
owners belong to the lower stratum 
of society. The swarthy complexion 
of the people here shown denote a strain of Indian 
blood. The men of this class are good workers, 
but have a weakness for alcoholic beverages. 
They drink a substance which is sold for wine, but 
which in reality is diluted and sweetened alcohol, 
colored red by quebracho bark. Poultry, hogs, and 
domestic animals roam around at random, enter- 
ing the house. There are no stoves, and the cook- 
ing is done in a kettle in the open. 



350 




351 



SACKS OF CORN AT A RAILWAY 
STATION. 

THE Province of Santa Fe is preeminently 
the corn-producing country of Argen- 
tina. Much of the land in the neigh- 
borhood of Rosario and of Santa Fe is 
owned by wealthy proprietors, who lease it to 
Italians in ten-acre lots and upwards. The lessees 
often have a prosperous year, but occasionally 
they as well as the lessors are great losers on 
account of the locust plague which periodically 
visits this province. 



352 




353 



DIPPING SHEEP AT ESTANCIA "SANTA 

ISABEL." 

THE sheep ranch of Santa Isabel is in the 
southern part of the Province of Santa 
Fe on a branch Hne of the Buenos 
Aires Pacific Railroad, 231 miles north- 
west of Buenos Aires. 



354 




355 



SANTA FE. 

THE city of Santa Fe, capital of the prov- 
ince of the same name, has a popu- 
lation of 63,000 inhabitants, '^^d is 
the seventh city of Argentine is 

300 miles northwest of Buenos Aires and 1 1 ^ x^ s 
north of Rosario. It is built on a fertile ^ 'ain on 
the west bank of the Santa Fe channel of the 
Parana River, navigable only for small vessels. 
The larger ones which come from all ports of the 
world anchor at the mouth of the channel, eight 
miles away at a place named Puerto Colastine, 
which is connected by rail with the capital. The 
writer once saw a four-master from Eastport, 
Maine, anchored off Puerto Colastine. 

Santa Fe is an old city, having been founded 
November 15, 1573, by Juan de Garay. Son ^ of 
the older buildings, such as the churches still e> 
and are worth a tour of inspection. In 185;^ i. 
first constitution of the Argentine Confederal, "^n 
was drawn up here, the then thirteen provin .es 
being represented. Santa Fe has borne the reputa- 
tion as a center of political intrigue, which is c en 
true at the present time. The growth of the city .ids 

356 



been slow. Rosario, much larger, and ambitious, 
has attempted several times in vain to wrest from 
it the honor of being the provincial capital. Santa 
Fe has three railroads entering it, and is connected 
with Parana by a steamship line, whose boats ply- 
between the two not very far distant cities twice 
daily. 

Santa Fe bears the reputation of a sleepy, dull, 
and rather stagnant place. This is unjust, for 
it is doubtful if even the streets of Bahia Blanca 
prese*^^ i more animated appearance than Santa 
Fe' .e Comercio. There is a fair hotel in the 

c' , . ..e Hotel Espafia. Santa Fe has a university, 
vvell-p? ed streets, good buildings, and a new 
boulevard along 1 the river from whence can be 
seen, in the distance, the towers and spires of 
Parana. A brewery is about the most important 
factory that the city can boast of. 

The finest cornfields in Argentina are in the 
environs of the city. 



357 



GENERAL VIEW OF SANTA FE. 



358 




359 



HARBOR AT SANTA FE. 

THIS is a harbor which has been made 
by dredging a portion of the Santa Fe 
channel of the Parana River. It is 
navigable only by small craft. The 
boat in the center of the picture is the one that 
plies between Santa Fe and Parana. 



360 




36i 



T 



PLAZA DE MAYO. 

HIS is Santa Fe's most important park. 
The building with the tower at the left 
is the capitol. 



362 




363 



NORMAL SCHOOL. 



364 




365 



COMMERCE STREET. 

CALLE COMERCIO is the main street of 
Santa Fe. On it are the best retail 
stores and the hotels. The edifice 
facing us at the right is the Santa Fe 
branch of the Bank of the Argentine Nation. 



366 




367 



CHURCH OF SAN FRANCISCO. 



T 



HIS is an old relic, but its fagade has been 
remodeled so that it now presents a 
modern appearance. 



368 



T 



CHURCH OF SAN ANTONIO. 

HIS is the oldest church in the city. It 
is interesting to the lover of antiques, 
and of history. 



370 




3/1 



LA MERCED CHURCH. 

THIS is a nearly perfect production of 
what we call Mission architecture. 
The person who makes a trip to Cali- 
fornia and returns to go into ecstasies 
over the missions of Santa Barbara, San Gabriel, 
and others, should by all means visit Argentina or 
Peru. Those of Argentina are so far superior 
to those of California, and have a so much greater 
background of history, combined with folklore, 
that the person who once sees and visits them, at 
once classes those of California as mediocre and 
not worth looking at. 



372 




373 



ROSARIO. 

ROSARIO, the metropolis of the Province 
of Santa Fe, the second city of Argen- 
tina, and the sixth of South America, 
had in 1914 a population of 316,914 
inhabitants. It is a Parana River port, accessible 
to ocean-going vessels, and is 189 miles northwest 
of Buenos Aires, express trains covering the dis- 
tance in 4>< hours. It was founded by Francisco 
Godoy in 1725, but it dates its growth from 1854. 
It is commonly known as Rosario de Santa Fe, to 
distinguish it from Rosario de la Frontera, ? *^d 
numerous other Rosarios, which name seems tc 
a favorite in Spanish-speaking countries. 

It is built on a level plain, has straight streets 
paved with creosote blocks and cobblestones. The 
streets intersect each other at right angles, form- 
ing squares. There are fourteen plazas, but they 
are not centrally enough located to form breathing 
spaces for the wearied shopper or pedestrian. Its 
downtown district very much resembles that of 
Buenos Aires, with its narrow congested streets. 
There are a few fine residences in Rosario, but on 
the whole there is not much to interest the tourist, 

374 



as it is essentially a business center. About 
Rosario there is a genuine North American or 
North European activity, that is surpassed no- 
where else in vSouth America, excepting in Sao 
Paulo. There is a large Italian element, which 
forms about one third of the population, and whose 
influence is seen on the architecture of the build- 
ings. Rosario, not only is a great corn and stock 
exporting port, but is also a railroad center, has 
a large sugar refinery, two breweries, car shops, 
and numerous minor industries. It is the center 
of Argentine sculpture. There is plenty of money 
on circulation; there are great importing houses 
and numerous large banks. The hotels, restau- 
rants, cafes, theaters, and music halls are on a par 
with those of any city of its size. The Hotel 
Savoy and the Hotel Italia are modern in every 
respect. 

Adjoining Rosario on the north is a large 

illage named Alberdi, where better-to-do people 

-^ve their villas set back from the road in gardens, 

^Lid thus enjoy a rural life on the outskirts of a 

big city. 



375 



EXPORTATION SECTION OF PORT WORKS, 
ROSARIO. 



376 




Zll 



ROSARIO IN 1888. 

THIS picture was taken by Mr. Brooks, a 
pioneer photographer of Rosario, who 
came there in the '8o's. This gives one 
a good idea how the town looked in 1 888, 
as seen from the cathedral tower looking westward 
up Calle Buenos Aires. This same street presents 
today a totally different aspect, and would be 
unrecognizable from the photograph, although, as 
can be seen, Rosario was at that time no slouch of 
a town. The architecture of the houses at that 
period was colonial Spanish, with flat roofs. To- 
day the architecture is a composite Italian, with 
many domes. 

The writer has met quite a few people who 
do not think the appearance of the Rosarino streets 
has changed in the last two decades. He was in 
Rosario in 191 3, and again in 1916, and even 
though there was a financial depression in Argen- 
tina during that period, he noticed a great change 
and improvement for the better in the number of 
new buildings that had been built in that interval. 
He met a friend on the street one day and said : 

''What I especially notice about Rosario is 
the great number of new buildings that have 
been put up during the last three years." 

The Rosarino promptly answered : ' ' I came 
here twenty years ago, and it seems to me as if the 
streets look the same now. as they did then." 

378 




379 



STATION OF THE PROVINCE OF SANTA 
FE RAILROAD. 

THIS is called the Estacion Frances 
(French Station) because the Province 
of Santa Fe Railroad Company is owned 
by French capital. The Rosario to 
Puerto Belgrano Railroad Company as well as the 
Port Works are also French-owned corporations. 

The round holes seen on the fagade of' the 
gables of this depot are bullet marks from the 
revolution of 1893. 

Notice the advertisements on the electric car in 
the picture. Instead of putting the street names 
on a board at the top, the names of the articles 
advertised are put there, while the street nomen- 
clature appears in front. 



380 




381 



TRACKS OF THE CENTRAL ARGENTINA 
RAILROAD, ROSARIO. 

THE Central Argentina Railroad has a 
great network of lines in the Province 
of Santa Fe, most of them radiating 
from Rosario. It has two stations in 
Rosario, and the building with the tower to the 
right of this photograph surmounts the principal 
one. 



382 




383 



COURTHOUSE. 

THIS whopper of a building is one of the 
largest public buildings of its kind in 
the world. It is an immense pile, and 
covers an entire city block. There are 
four Courts of Appeals in Argentina; one of them 
meets here. 

It is situated on the Plaza San Martin. 



384 




385 



POLITICAL BUILDING. - 

THE above words signify the use to which 
this Jefatura Pohtica is put. In it 
are held the pohtical meetings, and 
assemblies. The police department, 
secret service, and fire department also have their 
offices here. This is a very fine building, snow- 
white, and is much better looking than this repro- 
duction represents. 



386 



PLAZA DE MAYO. 

THIS mediocre park, bordered by pussy- 
willow trees, is the main plaza of the 
city. It was once a civic center, and 
hub of the business section, but in 
recent years, the latter has moved three streets to 
the northward, leaving the Plaza de Ma^^o out of 
the present scope of commercial activity. The 
building to the left of the center of this photo- 
graph is the city hall, while the one with towers is 
the cathedral. This photograph was taken in the 
winter (June) as can be observed by the leafless 
trees, and by the paucity of loafers seated on the 
public benches. 



388 



CITY HALL. 



390 




391 



LA MATRIZ, OR CATHEDRAL. 



392 




393 



GOVERNOR FREYRE SCHOOL. 



394 




395 



STOCK EXCHANGE. 

IT is called La Bolsa. It is a building with 
an artistic fagade on San Lorenzo Street, 
not far from San Martin Street. This 
photograph was taken from a balcony on 
the second story of the Savoy Hotel. 



396 




397 



LONDON AND BRAZILIAN BANK. 

ROSARIO teems with banks. Nearly all 
the standard banks of the east coast 
of South A^merica have branches here. 
The bank shown in the photograph is 
at the corner of San Martin and Santa Fe Streets. 
San Martin is par excellence the banking street of 
Rosario. 



398 




399 



BANK OF ITALY AND RIVER PLATE. 

THIS is situated at the corner of San Martin 
and Rioja Streets. 



400 




401 



SPANISH BANK OF THE RIVER PLATE. 



T 



HIS is at the corner of San Martin and 
Santa Fe Streets, opposite the London 
and Brazihan Bank. 



402 




403 



BRITISH BANK OF SOUTH AMERICA. 

THIS is at the corner of San Martin and 
Cordoba Streets. 



404 




405 



BANK OF LONDON AND RIVER PLATE. 

THIS building stands in the middle of a block 
on San Martin Street. 



406 




407 



FRENCH BANK OF THE RIVER PLATE. 

AN exception to the rule, this bank is 
not situated on San Martin Street. It 
is at the corner of San Lorenzo and 
Sarmiento Streets, not far from the 
stock exchange. 



408 




409 



CASTAGNINO BUILDING. 

THIS photograph is shown in order that 
the reader may see a good example 
of the modern Rosarino office building. 
This building is at the corner of Cor- 
doba and General Mitre Streets. 



410 




411 



SANTA FE STREET. 

THIS is one of the principal retail streets of 
Rosario. The photograph is a likeness 
of this thoroughfare looking north 
from San Martin Street. The build- 
ing at the left is the London and Brazilian Bank, 
while that at the right is that of the Spanish 
Bank of the River Plate. 



412 




413 



SAN MARTIN STREET. 

THIS photograph is looking west on 
San Martin Street. At the left is 
the Provincial Bank of Santa Fe; 
at the right is the London and 
Brazilian Bank. 



414 




415 



VIEWS OF ROSARIO 
CORDOBA STREET 



416 





417 



CORDOBA STREET. 

CORDOBA STREET not only is the lead- 
ing street of the shopping district, but 
it is also a residential street towards 
its northern end. This view is taken of 
it looking south, about midway between the 
residential section and the shopping district. 

On the low building at the left notice the sign 
''43." That is the best advertised brand of 
cigarettes in Argentina, and its sign is to be found 
in every town of the republic in monotonous 
conspicuousness. 



418 




419 



BOULEVARD ORONO. 

THIS beautiful parkway, planted with pal- 
mettos and date palms, is the residen- 
tial street of the wealthy. It extends 
the length of the city from east to 
west. 



420 




421 



RESIDENCE OF DR. C. BARLETT. 



T 



HIS is a type of a modern Rosario 

house in the residential section of 

the city. It is on the Boulevard 
Orofio. 



422 




423 



PIXASCO MANSION. 

THIS is a specimen of one of the finer 
houses of the city. Some of them 
are real lordh^ affairs; this is one of 
them. It is situated at the corner of 
the Boulevard Orono and Cordoba Street. 



424 




425 



FERNANDEZ DIAZ RESIDENCE. 

T is situated on Cordoba Street, opposite to 
■ the Plaza Pringles. 



426 




427 



RESIDENCE OF DR. NICANOR ELIA. 



T 



HIS, though not one of the most costly, 
is one of the most aristocratic-looking 
residences in the whole Argentine 
Republic. 



428 




429 



PALATIAL RESIDENCE IN ROSARIO. 



430 




431 



RESIDENCE OF DIEGO ALVEAR. 



^HIS is in the suburbs of Rosario in a large 
garden named the Quinta Alvear. 



432 




433 



COLUMN OF VICTORY, PLAZA DE MAYO. 



434 




435 



MAUSOLEUM OF MARCELINO SEMINO. 

IN the background of this photograph, notice 
the niches in the walls of the cemetery, 
where coffins are placed, and sealed over 
with a marble slab. This is reminiscent 
of the Old French Cemetery in New Orleans. 



436 



«. 

^ 




/ 




437 



INDEPENDENCE PARK. 

THIS park is on the Boulevard Orono, at 
quite a distance from the center of 
the city. In the daytime it is a quiet 
place, but is a favorite drive in the 
evening. About ii p.m. is when there is most 
life there, for at that hour a band plays in front of 
the cafe, which then is filled with people. 



4 



438 




439 



SWIMMING POOL AT SALADILLO. 

SALADILLO is a pleasure resort several 
miles south of the city, a poor imitation 
of Coney Island. It is frequented mostly 
by the poorer classes of people who hie 
thither in throngs Sunday afternoons to swim, 
take rides on the roller coaster, toboggan, drink 
beer, and to eat ice-cream cones. It is a good 
place to swim, but not preferred by the better 
classes on account of the riffraff that is always 
present to indulge in that class of sport. White 
men, negroes, and the scum of Sicily all mingle 
together in the swimming pool. 



440 




441 



MONTES RESIDENCE AT ALBERDI. 

ALBERDI is a place of about 10,000 
inhabitants adjoining Rosario on the 
north. Many fine residences of wealthy 
Rosarinos are located there, their pro- 
prietors going to their business daily on the trolley 
cars or in their automobiles. 



442 




443 



TERRITORY OF THE CHACO. 

THIS political division with an area of 
52,741 square miles had in 19 14 a 
population of 58,512 inhabitants, in- 
cluding Indian tribes. Its population 
in 1895 was estimated at 10,422. The territory 
lies directly north of the Province of Santa Fe 
and comprises the southern part of which is known 
as the Gran Chaco. The latter, the greater part of 
which is within the limits of Paraguay, is a well- 
watered wilderness of forest, bushes, and palmetto 
thickets, interspersed with grass}^ prairies and 
dismal sAvamps. Its inhabitants are wild Indians, 
some of which are beheved to be cannibals, but 
this supposition remains to be proved. Alost 
attempts to cross the Paraguayan Chaco have met 
with failure. Ayolas crossed it in 1536, and Irak 
in 1548. Since then it has never been crossed; 
several attempts have been made to do so, but 
the parties were massacred. As the Gran Chaco 
is practically an unknown country, there is but 
scant literature on it. A missionary, Mr. W. 
Barbrooke Grubb, spent several years among the 
Indians of the Chaco and wrote two books about 

444 



it, A Church in the Wilder 71 ess and An Unknown 
People in an Unknown Land. 

Although much of the Argentine Chaco is still 
unexplored, yet the southern part of it is well 
known, where there are a few small lumber mills, 
and where the quebracho bark is used for tannic 
acid. Across this part of the Chaco runs the 
Province of Santa Fe Railroad and a branch of the 
Central Northern Railroad. 

The only town of any importance in the terri- 
tory is Resistencia, the capital, a town of 11,000 
inhabitants, but a short ways inland from its 
port Barranqueras, which is across the Parana 
River from Corrientes. 



445 



PALMARES, TERRITORY OF CHACO. 

PALMARES is a name given to the pal- 
metto wildernesses that are to be found 
everywhere in the Chaco. These pal- 
mares form veritable islands of pal- 
mettos among the savannas and grassy plains 
of this little explored country. 



446 




447 



INDIAN TOLDA. 

THE Indians of the Argentine Chaco 
belong to the Toba tribe and Hve in 
grass huts called toldas. These toldas 
are not high enough to permit the 
inmate to rise higher than a sitting position. 
They serve more as a shelter and sleeping place 
than as a house, for the life of the Tobas is spent 
out of doors. The tufted grass which forms 
the sides of the tolda shown in the picture is what 
in the United States and especially in California is 
erroneously known as Pampa Grass. This grass, 
with its white fuzzy tufts, is a native of the north- 
ern provinces and territories of Argentina where 
there are no pampas. Gourds and earthenware 
vessels of native pottery form the household 
utensils of the Tobas. 



448 




449 



TOBA WOMEN. 

THE women of the Toba tribe have more 
pretensions to beauty than the greasy 
squaw of North America. Like the 
latter, however, cleanliness is with them 
an unknown quality. Note the blushing maiden in 
this photograph holding the skin of a puma. The 
large tree in the background is a guayavi. 

The Toba men often make raids on the esiancias 
of the white settlers, carrying away stock, but 
they are not as frequent as formerly. The Tobas 
are quick to become civilized, and many are found 
in the towns following the occupations of porters, 
and plantation workers. They are noted for 
their endurance, and also for their laziness. 



450 




451 



TERRITORY OF MISIONES. 

THIS geographical and political division 
is the northeastern outpost of Argentine 
civilization. It is bordered on the north 
by Paraguay and Brazil; on the east 
by Brazil, on the south by Brazil, and on the 
west by Paraguay and the Province of Corrientes. 
It has more in common with Argentina than with 
Brazil on account of it being between the Parana 
and the Uruguay Rivers, the same as the provinces 
of Corrientes and Entre Rios. Misiones has a 
population of 49,668 inhabitants scattered over an 
area of 11,282 square mxiles (approximately that of 
Maryland and Delaware combined). The only 
place of any importance in the territory is Posadas, 
the capital, a dull place of 9000 inhabitants perched 
on the top of a red clay hill on the Alto Parana 
River, which here is about two miles wide. A 
ferry boat crosses the river at Posadas to the 
Paraguayan city of Villa Encarnacion, carrying 
on it the through train from Buenos Aires to Asun- 
cion. The only railroad in Misiones is the North- 
eastern Argentine Railway. Posadas is connected 

452 



by two lines of steamers plying on the Alto Parana 
River with Corrientes. 

The climate of Misiones is sub-tropical, as well 
as the vegetation. It is a well- watered rolling land 
of forests intermingled with grassy savannas, well 
adapted for stock raising. The chief industry 
seems to be yerha mate or Paraguayan tea. The 
leaves when dried and steeped form the staple 
beverage of the inhabitants of this region. The 
mate plantations are called yerhales. The soil of 
Misiones is a red clay. Oranges and lemons thrive 
to perfection. Among the wild plants, the most 
conspicuous are the yellow canna and the caladium 
or elephant's ear. 

The name Misiones (Missions) owes its origin 
to the fact that this country was first settled by 
the Jesuit fathers, who established here great 
stone churches, of which to-day nothing is standing 
excepting the vine-clad ruins. The principal one 
of these ruins is San Ignacio, a resort for tourists 
during the winter months (June to September). 
In Misiones there are many Indians, mestizos, 
and Brazilians. In recent years there has been 
quite an immigration from Paraguay, owing to 
insecurity of life and of property in that revolution 
bedridden republic. 



453 



FALLS OF THE IGUAZU. 

THESE are the chief attraction to the 
tourist in the Territory of Misiones. 
They are near the mouth of the Iguazu 
River which flows into the Alto Parana 
about two hundred miles above Posadas. The falls 
are both Brazilian and Argentine as the Iguazu 
River marks the boundary between these two 
countries. A boat line runs from Posadas to a 
landing about fifteen miles from the falls, at which 
place the tourist goes by carriage to Puerto Aguirre, 
where there is a hotel of limited accommodations 
for those who desire to see the falls. 

These falls are greater than Niagara, and in 
this world are surpassed only by the Victoria Falls 
in Africa. The drop of the Iguazu Falls is 211 
feet, against Niagara's 159, and their breadth is 
2^ miles against Niagara's mile. The writer has 
seen both, and although he considers the Niagara 
Falls more majestic, those of Iguazu have them 
faded into the background as to scenery. The 
Iguazu Falls are a series of falls spread over a wide 
area and are not confined to two great chutes 
of water like in Niagara. Part way down on the 
drop of the Iguazu Falls rocky ledges are met 
which stop the impetus, and divide the stream in 
tv70. At the bottom of the falls and up the sides 
of the chasm grow mighty tropical trees. A 
peculiar feature of the Iguazu Falls is that while in 
some places the falls have one sheer drop to the 
bottom, in other places ledges occur which make 
the falls a succession of leaps. 

These photographs represent only a partial view. 
454 




455 



ANOTHER VIEW OF THE IGUAZU FALLS. 



456 




457 



PROVINCE OF ENTRE RIOS. 

THIS province derives its name (Between 
the Rivers) from the fact that it is a 
peninsula, bounded on the west by the 
Parana River, and on the east by the 
muddy w^aters of the Uruguay. It is often spoken 
of as the Argentine Mesopotamia, which nom.en- 
clature is very accurate. The soil of Entre Rios 
is as rich as any in Argentina ; the country is well 
watered, and no part of the province is incapable of 
cultivation unless it is the swampy land at its 
southern point where the two rivers join to form 
the River Plate. About 5000 square miles of the 
northern part of Entre Rios is a vast forest, that of 
Montiel. Unfortunately there is not much lumber 
industry, the products of this forest being used 
for fuel instead. Entre Rios is commercially a 
stock-raising countr}^, and in its ports are many 
saladerias or beef -packing establishments. Among 
the most important ones are those located at Colon 
and at Santa Elena. Fruit growing is an extensive 
industry. 

The area of the province is 28,784 square miles, 
nearly the equivalent of that of South Carolina. 

458 



Its population, which in 1796 was estimated at 
11,600 had augmented to 419,476 in 1914, making 
it rank fourth among the Argentine provinces. 

The capital is Parana; other cities of im- 
portance are Concordia, Gualeguaychu, Gualeguay, 
Concepcion del Uruguay, La Paz, Basavilbaso, 
and Nogoya. 



459 



ENTRERRIANO LANDSCAPE. 



460 




46i 



PARANA RIVER LANDSCAPE, PROVINCE 
OF ENTRE RIOS. 

THIS photograph was taken from the 
Entrerriano side of the Parana River. 
The shore in the distance is that of 
the Province of Santa Fe. The tree 
in the foreground is an algarrobo. 



462 




4^3 



T 



SANTA ELENA. 

HIS small town is built on the high 
bank of the Parana River a few hours 
north of Parana, the capital of Entre 
Rios. It has a meat-canning factory. 



464 




4^5 



PARANA RIVER PASSENGER FERRY. 

THIS boat, the Alcaraz, plies twice daily 
between the cities of Parana and Santa 
Fe, and vice versa. This photograph 
was taken on the Santa Fe shore at 
Puerto Colastine. The high bluffs in the far 
distance is the Entrerriano shore. The whole 
Parana littoral of Entre Rios is distinguished 
by its high bluffs, against the low-lying swampy 
shore of Santa Fe. 



466 




467 



ENTRERRIANO SHORE OF THE PARANA 
RIVER. 

THE towns are mostly built on the high 
bluffs back from the river, and invisible 
from the passing steamboats. Steep 
roads run down the banks to the muddy 
shores of the river. 



468 




469 



EUROPA STREET, PARANA. 

PARANA, the capital of Entre - Rios, is a 
quiet, sleepy town of about 35,000 
inhabitants. The population of the 
commune is 71,346. Parana is on the 
river of the same name, about two hours distant 
by ferry from Santa Fe. It is a port of call for all 
river steamers. The city is set about a mile 
back from the landing stage at the river, which is 
connected with the center of the business district 
by a trolley line. Parana possesses many hand- 
some public buildings, has several broad shady 
avenues, and a fine park, the Parque Urquiza, 
named in honor of the president of the Argentine 
Confederation, Justo Jose de Urquiza, an Entrer- 
riano who met his death by assassination. The 
cathedral at Parana is, to the writer's idea, the 
finest, though not the most costly, in Argentina. 
The bishop is Dr. Abel Bazan y Bustos. Parana 
has a good hotel, the Gransac. 

Parana was founded in 1730; from 1852 to 
1 861, it was capital of the Argentine Federation; 
since 1883 it has been capital of the province, suc- 
ceeding Concepcion del Uruguay to that elevation. 
This is a photograph of the Calle Europa, one of 
the main streets of the city, looking west, awa}^ 
from the retail section. 



470 




471 



PLAZA DE MAYO, PARANA. 

THIS is the main square of the city. The 
view here shown looks north, and was 
taken from a window of the Gransac 
Hotel. The religious edifice with the 
twin towers is the cathedral. Around this plaza 
centers the life of the city, and here in the evenings 
the band plays. The east end of the plaza is 
bounded by a street on which are the popular cafes, 
where the Paranenses sit evenings at iron-topped 
tables placed on the sidewalk and listen to the 
music of the band. 



472 




473 



CATHEDRAL. 

THE cathedral of Parana, snow-white, 
surmounted by a tall dome, presents 
a very pleasing appearance. At each 
side of the fagade rises a graceful, 
slender tower. The ceiling of the interior is azure 
blue, which is a harmonious contrast with the 
whiteness of columns which divide the aisles. 
In Parana it gets very hot, but the interior of the 
cathedral is always cool, and affords an extra 
appropriate place for pious meditation. 



474 




475 



CHURCH OF SAN MIGUEL. 

NEXT to the cathedral, this place of 
Holy Worship is the most important 
in the Entre Rios capital. Its ex- 
terior, tomblike, and morbid, has, 
however, a majestic appearance. It is an old- 
timer, one of the first built churches in Parana. 



476 



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477 



CAPITOL, PARANA. 

A CASUAL observer of this photograph 
would have no trouble in telling 
offhand what this building is. It is 
a long, severe edifice, European in 
appearance, and covers the area of a city block. 



478 




479 



URQUIZA STREET, PARANA. 

THIS forlorn, poverty-stricken street, in 
great contrast to the fine ones of the 
city proper, is situated on the outskirts 
of Parana. Its wretched, morgue-like 
houses can find no parallel in morbidity, unless 
they are those on a certain ghoulish lane in the 
village of San Diego, Province of Pinar del Rio, 
Cuba. 



480 



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481 



PROVINCE OF CORDOBA. 

THIS central province of Argentina has an 
area of 62,160 square miles, being 
somewhat smaller than the State of 
Missouri. In size it is second in Argen- 
tina, and in population it is third. In 191 5 it 
had 'J2>^,J2'J inhabitants against 44,052 in 1779. 
The greater part of the country is pampa, but is 
watered by several fairly good-sized rivers, whose 
volume of water varies according to the wet and 
dry season. These rivers go by the names 
of Primero (ist), Segundo (2d), Tercero (3d), 
Quarto (4th), and Quinto (5th). They are fed by 
springs, rise in the rocky mountainous country in 
the west of the province, and have their water- 
courses marked by deep gorges. In recent years, 
they have been used in irrigation projects, many 
large dams having been built to supply water to 
a country which without water would be an arid 
waste. The Primero and Segundo empty into 
the Mar Chiquita, a brackish, semi-saline lake 
in the northern part of the province, into which 
the Saladillo River flowing southward from Santi- 
ago del Estero also empties. The Tercero and 

482 



Quarto join, and forming one stream flow into the 
Parana midway between Rosario and Santa Fe. 
The Quinto loses itself in some salt marshes in 
the Province of San Luis. 

Cordoba is essentially a wheat country, and by 
dry-farming considerable crops are sometimes 
grown. On the other hand, the devastation 
through locusts is apt to be great. The writer 
has seen this country when there was not a single 
green leaf or blade of grass left standing, but such 
phenomena as that rarely occur. This was in the 
summer of 191 6. 

West of the city of Cordoba, the low, rocky 
mountains begin. The aspect is Hke that of the 
Austrian Province of Kiistenlande, commonly 
known to us as the Karst, where great rocks are 
strewn for miles and miles over the landscape. 
The sagebrush, chaparral, and mesquite bushes, 
with an occasional red laurel, are similar to the 
growth on the southern slopes of the Southern 
California mountains. The rivers are also like 
those of Southern California, turbulent, and 
narrow, jumping over rocks forming rapids and 
cataracts. The climate of the Province of Cordoba 
is hard to beat. It is undoubtedly the most 
salubrious in all South America, and to its towns 
and the Sierra de Cordoba, for such is the name 
of the rocky mountain chain, come people from all 
over Argentina in search of health especially those 
with tuberculosis and pulmonary afflictions. 

The northwestern part of the province is an arid 
483 



desert containing the Salinas Grandes, large salty 
plains where not a green thing grows, nor any liv- 
ing thing inhabits excepting several species of 
poisonous snake, notably among which is the 
cascabel, an ophidia of the rattlesnake family. 

Seven different railroad companies have lines 
in the province, the most important of which are 
the Central Argentina and the Central of Cordoba. 

The cities are few, and of but little importance, 
although there are a great number of villages. 
Besides the city of Cordoba, which is the capital, 
the only places of importance are Dean Funes, San 
Francisco, Bell-Ville, Rio Quarto, Jesus Maria, 
Cruz del Eje, Villa Maria, and Vicufia Mackenna. 



484 



CORDOBA. 

THE city was founded in 1573 by Luis 
Geronimo de Cabrera. Its present 
population is over 135,000 inhabitants, 
not including 25,000 people who live in 
the suburbs. It is the third city in Argentina, 
and next to Buenos Aires, the finest. It is built 
in a depression formed by the valley of the Rio 
Primero, from which the city obtains its water 
supply. A dam, named the Dique San Roque, 
twelve miles northwest of Cordoba checks the flow 
of this river, the water being brought to Cordoba 
by conduits. The country surrounding Cordoba is 
a high level plateau bounded on the south and 
on the west by mountains named the Sierra de 
Cordoba. 

Cordoba has been truthfully styled the "Rome 
of Argentina" as it was for many years the center 
of Jesuitical faith in the southern part of South 
America. In the city to-day there is said to 
be several thousand priests, monks, and members 
of various religious organizations. They are seen 

485 



everywhere. The city literally bristles with the 
spires, and domes of many churches. With the 
exceptions of Bahia and Lima, no other South 
American city can vie with it in the sumptuous 
luxury of its Houses of God. 

One of the five universities of Argentina is 
located at Cordoba. It was founded June 19, 
1 613, by Father Fernando de Trejo y Sanabria, 
and to it was brought from Lima in 1765, the 
first printing press in Argentina. From this 
university have graduated many men famous in 
South American annals, one of which was the 
noted tyrant of Paraguay, Dr. Caspar Rodriguez 
de Francia. 

Cordoba presents an antique appearance with 
many of its houses dating from the Colonial period, 
but these are fast giving way to handsome modern 
structures. There are fine boulevards, a zoologi- 
cal garden laid out in the bottom of a deep ravine, 
a fine theater, two good hotels, and several large 
banks. Bridges connect the city with its suburbs, 
which lie mostly on the north side of the Rio 
Primero. 

Cordoba is famous through Argentina for its 
breweries, more on account of the purity of the 
artesian water used in the manufacture of its beer 
than for the size of the brew^eries. There are 
three of them, that of Rio Segundo, which has a 
branch factory at the town of Rio Segundo, that 
of Pollak & Brueck, and that of Ahrens. How- 
ever, the leading industry of the city is its flour 

486 



mills, that of Minetti Brothers being an exceed- 
ingly large one. 

The photographs here shown hardly do justice 
to the city, which is a remarkably fine one. 



487 



PARTIAL VIEW OF CORDOBA. 

The church at the left is that of San Francisco. 



488 




489 



VIEW OF CORDOBA, LOOKING SOUTH. 

THE large building at the right is the 
cathedral. The church directly in 
front, with the belfry, is Santa Teresa, 
while the two-towered building in the 
left background is the church of La Compania. 



490 




491 



CENTRAL OF CORDOBA RAILWAY 
STATION. 

THIS station is in the northwestern part 
of the city at a suburb named Alta 
Cordoba. The Central of Cordoba 
Railroad does not descend into the 
pocket in which the city is built, but has its rail- 
road yards, depot, and car shops on the top of the 
level plateau. 



492 




493 



T 



NORTHERN MARKET. 

HE Mercado Norte, so is this market dis- 
tinguished, is not far from the Central of 
Cordoba Railway station. 



494 




495 



T 



CENTENNIAL BRIDGE. 

HIS bridge, named the Puente Cen- 
tenario, connects the city with its 
suburb of x\lta Cordoba. It spans 
the Rio Primero. 



496 




497 



BRIDGE OVER THE RIO PRIMERO. 

THIS traffic bridge connects Cordoba with the 
village of General Paz. 



498 




499 



SAN GERONIMO STREET. 

THIS street is named after the patron 
saint of Cordoba. It was the first name 
of its founder, Geronimo de Cabrera. 
It is one of the busy streets of the city, 
though not the busiest, and runs in a north and 
south direction. On it is the Bank of the Argen- 
tine Nation. The large building with pillars, 
seen to the left of this photograph, is that of the 
Bank of the Province of Cordoba. 



500 




501 



PLAZA SAN MARTIN. 

IT would be illogical if Cordoba did not name 
its principal plaza San Martin or else de 
Mayo, for what Argentine city does not 
have its foremost breathing space either 
named after the Guerrero or after the month in 
which independence was declared. 

This photograph is looking south. The large 
building at the left of the center is the cathedral; 
to its right, the Moorish-appearing edifice with a 
clock tower is the capitol. The street at the right 
is the main business street in the city. Its name 
is Dean Funes. On it, and seen in the right 
background, the building with the two-storied 
square tower is the post-office. The church with 
the twin towers seen to the right over the roof 
of the capitol is that of Santo Domingo. The 
church to the left of the cathedral is that of the 
Compaiiia, while the building at the extreme left 
and of which only three upper stories are visible 
is that of the Bank of the Argentine Nation. On 
this plaza but not seen in this photograph, for it is 
behind us, is the Plaza Hotel, the foremost of the 
city, which boasts of an excellent cafe and restau- 
rant, but of an abominable management. 



502 




503 



BANK OF THE ARGENTINE NATION. 

THIS is but a branch of Argentina's greatest 
bank, its headquarters being at Buenos 
Aires. Nevertheless this branch is one 
of the finest and largest bank edifices 
in the entire republic. It is on the Calle San 
Geronimo and faces the Plaza San Martin 
diagonally across from the cathedral. 
Its manager is Don Nicolas J. Oderigo. 



504 




505 



SPANISH BANK OF THE RIVER PLATE. 



506 




507 



BANK OF LONDON AND RIVER PLATE. 



508 




509 



BANK OF THE PROVINCE OF CORDOBA. 

IT is situated on San Geronimo Street, behind 
the Hotel San Martin. 



510 




511 



CAPITOL. 

THIS massive old structure of Moorish 
style of architecture faces the Plaza 
San Martin and occupies a whole city 
block. It will presently be demolished, 
as a new capitol will be built, the old one having 
been found too small and inadequate for the 
increasing business. 



51 




513 



NEW CAPITOL. 

THIS is a photograph of the drawing 
that was accepted in a contest for the 
new capitol building which is at the 
present time being btiilt. It will be 
a magnificent building. 



514 



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NEW COURTHOUSE. 

^HIS is a likeness of the drawing of the new 
courthouse, about to be erected in Cordoba. 



516 




517 



NEW CITY HALL. 

THIS photograph is also from a drawing. 
Not only will Cordoba have a new 
Capitol, and a new courthouse, but 
it will have a new city hall of which 
this photograph will be a likeness. The erection 
of these new buildings will tend to relieve the 
city of its antiquated appearance. Cordoba also 
needs a new post-office badly. 



518 




519 



T 



RIVERA INDARTE THEATER. 

HIS Grecian edifice is on the north side of 
the Avenida General Paz. In color it 
is yellowish brown. 



520 




521 



I 



OLMOS SCHOOL. 

T is named after a member of the Olmos 
family, one of the most influential and power- 
ful families of the Province of Cordoba. 



522 




523 



PENITENTIARY. 

^HIS frowning abode for criminals is in a suburb 
of Cordoba, the village of San Martin. ■ 



524 




525 



CORDOBA BREWERY. 

THE Cordoba Brewery owned by Pollak 
and Brueck is a small affair, yet it has 
proved to be a very lucrative invest- 
ment. This photograph shows , only 
one of the buildings. Like in the Rio Segundo 
Brewery, the water used here in the manufacture 
of beer is from a deep artesian well. 



526 




527 



MINETTI BROTHERS' FLOUR MILL. 



T 



HIS is the largest of the Cordobese flour 
mills. It has also been a very lucrative 
investment for its owners. 



528 




M 




529 



T 



CATHEDRAL. 

HIS is a grand old building, very elaborate 
and costly as to interior decorations. It 
is the most famous church in Argentina. 



530 




531 



CHURCH OF SAN ROQUE. 



532 




533 



CHURCH OF SANTO DOMINGO. 



534 




535 



CLOISTER OF SANTO DOMINGO. 

THE convent of Santo Domingo adjoins the 
church of the same name. 



136 




537 



CHURCH OF LA MERCEDES. 

ITS dome and the cupolas on the towers are 
different shades of glazed blue tile. 



538 . 




539 



CHURCH OF THE COMPANIA. 
CoMPANiA means "Holy Company." 



540 




541 



CHURCH OF SANTA TERESA. 



542 




543 



CHURCH OF SAN FRANCISCO. 



THIS religious edifice has also a cloister in 
connection with it. 



544 





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545 



INTERIOR OF CHURCH OF SAN 
FRANCISCO. 



546 




547 



AVENIDA GENERAL PAZ. 



T 



HIS is the lower end and poorer part 
of this thoroughfare. Its upper end 
is lined by many fine buildings and 
a few handsome residences. 



548 




549 



FALL OF BRIDGE IN SARMIENTO PARK. 

THIS remarkable photograph shows the 
remains of a bridge over an artificial 
lake in Sarmiento Park which collapsed 
under the strain of the weight of many 
people. The writer was on the bridge at the 
time it fell; the water in its deepest place did not 
exceed three feet, but many persons underwent 
a ducking. 



550 







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551 



ZOOLOGICAL GARDEN. 

THIS zoological garden is original. It is 
built in the bottom of a natural ravine, 
and in artificial caverns in the sides 
of the rock cages have been made for 
wild beasts. The cage at the top of the steps to 
the left is that of the lions. 



552 




553 



STATUE TO VELEZ SARSFIELD. 



554 





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555 



SOBREMONTE HOUSE. 

THIS is one of the oldest houses in Cordoba. 
Its likeness is here reproduced to 
give the observer an idea of how the 
houses of the colonial period appeared. 
There are not many of these left standing in 
Argentina, although Chile has them galore. 



556 




557 



GARZON RESIDENCE. 

THIS handsome brick residence is the 
property of the Governor of the Pro- 
vince of Cordoba, Dr. FeHx C. Gar- 
zon. It is on the Avenida General Paz, 
not far from the heart of the city. 



558 




559 



CHALET OF SENOR MINETTI. 

THIS chalet is in Villa Agents, a suburb 
of Cordoba. It belongs to Senor 
Minetti, one of the firm of Minetti 
Brothers, flour-mill proprietors. 



560 




56i 



STREET SCENE, BIALET MASSET. 

VILLA Bialet Masset is a small village of 
one long straggling street in the province 
of Cordoba, about twenty -five miles 
northwest of the city of Cordoba. It 
lies in a mountainous region and is not far from 
Cosquin. 



STREET SCENE, CORDOBA. 



562 





163 



FILTERS ON THE RIO PRIMERO. 



T 



HE Rio Primero furnishes the potable 
water for the city of Cordoba. These 
filters are several miles distant from 
the city. 



564 




565 



RIO PRIMERO. 

THIS is a typical scene on this turbulent 
stream which rises in the Sierra de 
Cordoba. It is not unlike the streams 
in the Western States of the United 
States, and the country through which it flows is 
also similar to that of the Western States. 



;66 




567 



T 



PUENTE DEL SALTO. 

HIS is a bridge over the Rio Primero. 
Salto means a "waterfall." There are 
no waterfalls on the Rio Primero, 
cascades rather. 



568 




569 



I 



DIQUE MALET. 

N English this means Malet Dam. It is 
one of the systems of dams on the Rio 
Primero to hold back the water in a reser- 
voir for Cordoba's water supply. 



570 




571 



DIOUE SAN ROQUE. 

THE San Roque Dam is on the Argentine 
Northern Railroad, 28 miles northwest 
of Cordoba. It is the largest dam in 
the province and holds in check the 
San Roque Lake, which empties into the Rio 
Primero, forming a huge reservoir. It is one of 
the sights of the province. 



572 




573 



SAN ROQUE LAKE. 

THIS photograph was taken by the writer 
from the footpath that crosses the top 
of the masonry of the dam of the same 
name. It is a large reservoir of green- 
ish water filHng the canyon bottom. The real 
part of the lake lies in the far distance and can be 
seen through the narrows. 



TYPICAL ESTANCIA, PROVINCE OF 
CORDOBA. 

^HIS estanciais near the hamlet of San Roque, 
about five miles from San Roque Lake. 



574 





575 



s 



CHURCH AT SAN ROQUE. 

AN ROQUE nestles in the midst of the 
lonesome Sierra de Cordoba. It is an old 
hamlet of very few houses. 



576 




577 



CORDOBESE LANDSCAPE IN THE 
SIERRA. 



578 




579 



COSQUIN. 

COSQUIN is a village on the Argentine 
Northern Railroad, 36 miles northwest 
of Cordoba. It has a population of 
about 2000 inhabitants, and is the most 
important town in the Sierras. Its climate is dry and 
salubrious, and it is resorted to by consumptives 
and by those afflicted with lung troubles. Half- 
way between Cosquin and the neighboring village 
of Villa Bialet Masse t, there is a large sanatorium 
for patients suffering from tuberculosis. It is a 
dull, sleepy place, and unattractive. The trip 
thither from Cordoba by automobile is recom- 
mended, not so much on account of picturesque- 
ness, but because it gives the tourist an idea of what 
the mountainous part of Cordoba is really like, it 
being so different from the other mountainous 
parts of the republic. 



580 




58i 



THE HUB OF ACTIVITY OF COSQUIN. 



I 



N this dull sleepy town, the shadeless plaza in 
front of the church is where people congregate. 
The building to the right is the post-office. 



STREET IN COSQUIN. 

THE building at the left is the Hotel Mun- 
dial, the best in the village. The man 
in the photograph is the headwaiter. 
His name is Garcia. It was his wish 
to pose for this snap-shot. 



582 










^^^BB^MMMiiiii''' "'iiT*""*"'*^ *^"'" 



583 



FRUIT AND CAKE VENDORS, PROVINCE 
OF CORDOBA. 

NOTE the careworn appearance of their 
swarthy countenances. 



584 




585 



PROVINCE OF TUCUMAN. 

TUCUMAN, the smallest of all the Argen- 
tine provinces, has an area of but 8926 
square miles, not being much larger 
than the State of Massachusetts. It is 
the most fertile province of the republic, its 
southern and eastern area being given up nearly 
entirely to the cultivation of sugar cane. The 
northern and western portions are mountainous 
and are covered by a fine forest of semi-tropical 
trees. The only river of importance is the Sali, 
which takes its source from numerous streams 
rising in the mountains of the Aconquija Range 
and flows in a southeasterly direction into the 
Province of Santiago del Estero. The Sali is 
sometimes spoken of as the Rio Dulce. The 
snow-capped peak of Aconquija, 8612 feet high, 
can be seen rising above the other mountains in 
solitary grandeur from nearly every point in the 
eastern or flat part of the province. 

The Province of Tucuman is styled, and not 
without reason, "the Europe of Argentina," on 
account of its numerous villages and settlements, 
and from the chimneys of the mills which bristle 

586 



ever3rwhere on the landscape. Unlike other pro- 
vinces of Argentina in which civilization and settle- 
ment came after the railroads, in Tucuman it 
preceded them. It is to-day the most industrial 
part of Argentina. Its population is 373,073, 
about 100,000 of which live in the capital, the city 
of Tucuman. 

The soil is extremely fertile ; the rainfall abun- 
dant ; crops thrive well. Seen from the mountains 
to the west of the flat plain, the country appears 
to be a vast green checkerboard. The mountain 
valleys are veritable Gardens of Eden. The 
climate is hot, although in winter in the uplands 
there is an occasional frost. While the writer so- 
journed in Tucuman, the thermometer one day 
registered 108° Fahrenheit in the shade. 

At a town named Tafi Viejo, 1 1 miles north of 
the capital, the Central Northern Railroad (Gov- 
ernment owned) has the largest railway repair 
shops in South America. Cheeses from Tafi, a 
village in the mountains about 60 miles west of 
the capital, are renowned locally. The mineral 
springs of Ghino produce a water that has a wide 
sale. Next to sugar, the chief exports are rum, 
timber, and fruit. Besides the capital, the princi- 
pal towns are Concepcion, Bella Vista, Graneros, 
Monteros, Lules, Chicligasta, and Famailla. The 
railroads are the Central of Cordoba, the Argen- 
tine Central, Northern. All have many branches 
in the province as outlets to the large sugar 
factories. 

587 



TUCUMAN. 

TUCUMAN, with 100,000 inhabitants, is 
the fifth city of Argentina, being sur- 
passed in population only by Buenos 
Aires, Rosario, Cordoba, and La Plata. 
It is commercially the third city of the republic, 
and is the great industrial city of the country. 
Tucuman is a sort of hub, for it is the center of the 
great sugar-cane district from which all roads lead 
to it. It has within a radius of twenty miles a 
quantity of small towns, to which it is connected 
by rail with frequent service. 

The situation of the city is fine. It is built 
near the River Sali, on a flat, fertile, and ultra 
productive plain, where the temperature is nearly 
always what can be styled hot. Several miles to 
the west rise wooded mountains abounding in 
beautiful scenery. At the top of one of these is a 
village named Villa Nougues, at an altitude of 
3000 feet above the valley, where it is always cool 
and is a favorite resort for those wishing to escape 
the discomforts of the city. 

Though Tucuman is not what one would call a 
beautiful city (industrial cities rarely are), it has 
some very laudable buildings, chief among which is 

588 



the capitol, and some fine avenues have recently 
been laid out. It has a good electric car service, and 
an excellent hotel, the Savoy, which is one of the 
finest in all Argentina. It, with its neighboring 
gambling casino (which has a concession from 
the municipality), were erected in 1914 at a 
cost of $1,500,000. The city bustles with life, 
not only in its center but also in the neighbor- 
hood of the railroad stations, which is the quarter 
where the greater proportion of the working men 
live. Tucuman has the youngest university in 
Argentina, it being founded in 191 5. It has also 
an agricultural experimental station, equipped 
with an excellent bacteriological laboratory. The 
Cerveceria del Norte, next to that of Quilmes, 
is the largest brewery in the republic. It is said 
that if all the other breweries in the republic 
should close, the capacity of the one in Tucuman 
is ample to supply all Argentina. 

Tucuman was founded by Diego de Villaroel, 
September 29, 1565, several miles south of where 
the present city now stands. In 1585 it was re- 
moved to its present site which is 1453 feet above 
sea level. The city is dear to all Argentine patri- 
ots, for here on July 9, 181 6, the delegates from the 
River Plate provinces met and drew up a declara- 
tion freeing them from all ties with Spain. The 
house in which this declaration of independence 
was drawn up has been preserved by having a 
building of ferro-concrete built around it, and is 
to-day the show place of the city. 

589 



CENTRAL OF ARGENTINA RAILROAD 
STATION. 



"DELIGHTED." 

A PHOTOGRAPH of Mr. Theodore Roose- 
velt as he passed through the streets of 
Tucuman from the railroad station, en 
route to his hotel, spring of 191 3. This 
was taken by Mr. A. A. Kirwin of Tucuman. 



590 



NORTH SIDE OF THE PLAZA. 

THE building in the distance to the left of the 
center is the capitol. 



STREET SCENE. 



'TpHE building with the twin towers is the 



cathedral. 

\ 



592 





593 



SIDE STREET. 



ONE OF THE MAIN STREETS. 



594 





595 



SOUTH SIDE OF THE PLAZA. 



SCHOOL BUILT AND MAINTAINED BY 
THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT 



596 





597 



THE CAPITOL, TUCUMAN. 

THIS is one of the finest provincial capitol 
buildings in Argentina. It was finished 
in 1 9 14, and covers an entire block. 
On the second story of the comer fac- 
ing us, is the private office of the Governor, Dr. 
Ernesto Padilla, a friend of the writer. Adjoining 
his office he has a room devoted to a collection 
of Indian antiquities of Tucuman Province. The 
interior of this building is elaborately rich and 
luxurious. 



598 




599 



STREET SCENE. 

^HIS is the 9th of July Street looking from 
the corner of 24th of September Street. 



600 




6oi 



MUNICIPAL PAWNSHOP. 



602 




6o3 



A HOLIDAY IN TUCUMAN. 

THIS photograph was taken from the roof of 
the capitol. 



604 




6o: 



GENERAL O'DONNELL'S ESCORT OF 
LANCERS. 

GENERAL O'DONNELL, a native 
Argentine, is in command of the part 
of the Argentine army stationed at 
Tucuman. He is an acquaintance of 
the writer. 



606 




l-i 



607 



UNIVERSITY OF TUCUMAN. 

IT is the youngest of the Argentine univer- 
sities, having been founded in 19.15. Its 
departments are yet incomplete. The 
other universities in Argentina are four, 
and are located at Cordoba, Buenos Aires, La 
Plata, and Santa Fe. 



608 




6o9 



PATIO OF THE UNIVERSITY. 



6io 




6ii 



EXAMINERS' BOARD, UNIVERSITY OF 
TUCUMAN. 

THE gentleman in the center with the 
straw hat on his knee is Dr. Juan 
B. Teran, president of the university 
and a friend of the writer. The two 
gentlemen at his right are Americans, connected 
with the Experimental Station of Agriculture at 
Tucuman. 



612 




6i3 



BACTERIOLOGICAL LABORATORY, EX- 
PERIMENTAL STATION OF AGRICUL- 
TURE. 



T 



HE Experimental Station of Agriculture 
is situated a couple of miles north of 
the city, and is in charge of some 
professors from the United States. 



614 




6i5 



INTERIOR OF THE ALBERDI THEATRE. 



6i6 




6i7 



T 



CIGAR FACTORY. 

HIS also is one of the leading industries of 
Tucuman. Most of the labor is done by 
girls and women. 



6i8 




6i9 



FIRE ENGINE, TUCUMAN. 

THIS is the best and most complete 
fire engine in South America. It 
is the property of the Tucuman Fire 
Department. It is a Merryweather 
(London) 6o-Horse Power. 



620 




621 



THE FIREMEN'S BALL. 

THIS is an annual event eagerly looked 
forward to by the firemen and their 
friends. It is held every New Year's 
night and commemorates the founding 
of the corps which at present (191 7) has nineteen 
years of existence. 



622 




623 



MAUSOLEUM OF THE CLERGYMEN'S 
SOCIETY. 

THIS monument is in the West Cemetery. 
The man at its base is its architect 
and sculptor. So that his name won't 
pass into oblivion, note the large tablet 
on the right-hand side of its face which has dis- 
figured it by its gross braggadocio. 



624 




625 



MOUNTED POLICEMAN, TUCUMAN. 



626 



A FORTUNATE GENTLEMAN. 

THE smooth-shaven man in this photo- 
graph several years ago sold lottery 
tickets on a small scale. At Xmas, 
1908, he could not sell all he had, and 
was left with several. Once the extraction was 
published, he found that one of his left-over 
tickets had won for him a million pesos ($460,000). 
He still has a sale of lottery tickets, which today 
is the largest in Tucuman. 



628 




629 



TYPICAL GROCERY STORE, SUBURBS OF 
TUCUMAN. 



I 



N this place you can have a drink, while you 
make your purchases of flour, sugar, etc. 



630 




631 



A COUNTRY COTTAGE. 



EVERYONE is waiting for the bird to appear, 
the donkey also. 



632 




633 



CURIOUS STONE, PROVINCE OF TUCU- 

MAN. 

THIS solitary stone was found to be covered 
with Indian drawings and hieroglyphics. 



634 




63; 



• A NEAR VIEW OF THE SAME STONE. 

THIS shows plainly the interesting carvings 
done by the Indians. When discov- 
ered, this stone was covered with moss. 
When Mr. A. A. Kirwin, the author 
of this photograph, heard of this find, he "went 
to see it. He had it scraped and washed; then 
when it was dry, he passed a piece of chalk over 
each line of every figure. This accounts for 
the ease by which you can distinguish the work. 



636 




637 



PROVINCE OF SALTA. 

THIS second largest province of Argentina 
is a country itseH, no South American 
republic having a more varied topo- 
graphy, greater differences of climate, 
soil, or rainfall. Part of it lies in the tropics, and 
part in the temperate zone. Its area is 62,184 
square miles, exceeding the Province of Cordoba 
by twenty-four square miles only. It is some- 
what smaller than Missouri, or Washington, and 
is a trifle larger than either Georgia, Florida, or 
Michigan. Its population is 142,068 inhabitants, 
having had but a small increase in recent years. 
The census of 1869 gave it 88,933 inhabitants. 

The western and northwestern parts of the 
province are traversed by the eastern chain of 
the Andes, a cold, windy, bleak, forlorn desert 
and conglomeration of rocky mountain peaks 
where it seldom rains. The culminating point 
is the peak of Cachi, covered with perpetual snow. 
The eastern half is a great tropical forest, well 
watered and low lying and in which rise rivers 
such as the Bermejo, the Teuco and others that 
flow southeasterly into the Paraguay forming 

638 



part of the great River Plate system. This 
country has an excess of rainfall, and here are 
located some large sugar mills. Rice could be 
grown profitably. 

The part where the majority of the inhabitants 
live is in the valleys in the center, especially that 
of the Lerma. Here the tree-covered mountains 
open up into wide and spacious valleys, very fertile, 
and which are well cultivated. That of Cafayate 
produces excellent wine, which unfortunately is 
not frequently exported from the province. Stock- 
raising is a leading industry. The cattle are 
driven across the high and barren Andes and are 
sold at a great gain at Antofagasta and other 
nitrate ports of Northern Chile. There is but 
one railroad in the province, Central Northern, 
which has several branches. It is now continuing 
its antennae by two parallel lines to the Paraguay 
River across the Argentine Chaco. What Salta 
needs more than anything, according to the 
conversation of the inhabitants with the writer, is 
a transandean line to connect with Antofagasta, 
Chile, for it would be the natural outlet for the sale 
of their stock on account of the high prices paid 
for cattle in Northern Chile. Freight makes the 
exportation of stock to the Argentine seaboard 
prohibitive. 

Salta contains, with the exception of the capital, 
very few places of any importance. Oran is a 
small place kept up by the sugar industry. Giie- 
mes is a railroad center. Rosario de la Frontera is 

639 



renowned for its mineral springs, which lie four 
miles east of the town of the same name. There 
are six springs, all different, and it is said that at 
no other place in the world is there such a marked 
contrast in the composition of the mineral waters 
than is found there. One spring is siHceous; one 
is ferruginous; one is alkaline, like Vichy; one 
is saline ; one is sulphurous ; the last has purgative 
qualities. 

As in Tucuman, here in Salta civilization pre- 
ceded the railroad. In olden days it took three 
months for a journey to Buenos Aires. For this 
reason, its towns have a colonial appearance of 
ancient style of architecture. There lies in the 
midst of the forest about six hours from the rail- 
road station of Met an, an old city named Santi- 
ago del Esteca, practically forgotten, but possessing 
the solid buildings of two centuries ago. 



640 



CITY OF SALTA. 

SALTA is the capital of the province of the 
same name. It has a population of about 
28,000 inhabitants; that of the commune 
is 33,899. The original city was founded 
in 1582 in the Vallc}^ of Siancas by Abreu. and was 
given the name of San Clemente de Nueva Sevilla. 
Two 3^ears later the site was transferred to where 
the cit}' now stands and was called San Felipe de 
Lerma, in honor of the Hernando de Lerma who 
had the place moved. The name Salta grad- 
ualh^ came into use and supplanted the original 
appeUation. 

It is a compact, well-built city of ancient houses, 
many of them having extremeh' thick walls. Like 
all houses of Spanish colonial architecture these 
buildings are low, and surround large patios. In 
the last few years, however, some fine buildings 
have been erected in the vicinity of the Plaza 9th 
of Jul}', which add greatly to the appearance of 
the business section of the city. 

Salta possesses some superb churches, with 
cupolas and steeples ornamented with porcelain 
tiles. It is the seat of a bishopric, and has a 

642 



famous monastery, that of San Francisco, nearly 
three hundred years old. Seen from the plains 
north of the city, its spires and towers give it a 
mediaeval Teutonic appearance. This aspect is 
augmented by the vision of the twin spires of the 
German Lutheran church. There is a good hotel, 
the Plaza. The park of San Martin at the eastern 
end of the city is an attractive place to spend the 
afternoon. There is a good electric tram system 
and the streets are well paved with cobblestones, 
and creosote blocks. 

The climate is said to be unhealthy, a fever 
named chucho, a form of ague, being prevalent, 
but the writer thinks that the prevalence of 
chucho is exaggerated, this thought being borne 
out by the reports of the Board of Sanitation of 
the province. 



643 



RAILROAD STATION, SALTA. 

THIS is the station of the Central North- 
ern Railroad. It is situated on the 
northern outskirts of the city, about 
a mile from the center of the busi- 
ness district. 



644 



A PARADE IN SALTA. 

THE view here given is that of the north 
side of the principal plaza, that of the 
9th of July. The view is looking east. 
The building with the Corinthian pillars 
in the near left foreground is the cathedral. Its 
bishop is Jose Gregorio Romero. The two-story 
building on the same side of the street and in 
the left background is the Plaza Hotel. The 
three-story building facing us is used upstairs for 
residential purposes. Downstairs it contains the 
beer hall ''Al Mejor Chopp." 



646 



SALTA SOCIAL CLUB. 

THE three-story building in the left fore- 
ground is the Salt a Social Club, now 
finished. It is one of the most modern 
buildings in the city. It is luxuriously 
furnished, and would put to shame many of the 
so-called select clubs of our North American 
cities. The interior finishing was done by native 
woodcarvers, of woods indigenous to the Salt a 
forests. The heavy candelabra of Venetian glass 
and the gilded Louis XVI. furniture of the ball- 
room were imported from France at great expense. 
The building on its right facing us is also of 
modern construction, but the low building in the 
right background is ancient. These edifices are 
on the west side of the Plaza 9th of July. 



648 



BUILDING OF THE COLONIAL 

TYPE. 

THLS long, and low, but artistic edifice is 
one of the class that is slowly but 
surely disappearing in Salta. It is of 
the Spanish colonial type of architec- 
ture and is over one hundred years old. Notice 
the Gothic arches on the ground floor, and the 
Moorish ornamentation of the second story. The 
walls are very thick ; they have the same thickness 
as the piers between the ground-floor arches. 
This building is on the west side of the Plaza 9th 
of July, and on its ground floor has barber shops, 
cigar stores, and bootblack stands. 



650 



OLD CABILDO, SALTA. 

THIS is the old city hall, called cabildo. 
Here also were located the offices of the 
provincial government. It is a landmark 
of the city, and should be preserved. It 
is no longer used for public usages. The right half 
of it is rented by a German who has a restaurant 
and beer saloon on the ground floor named *'A1 
Buen Chopp," while he lives above it and rents 
the other rooms to transient guests. Notice the 
eaves above the second story projecting across the 
sidewalk. During a rain the pedestrian is apt to 
get a douche from them. This is one of the best 
preserved ancient buildings in Argentina. 



652 



PLAZA HOTEL. 

THOUGH not in a class with its namesake 
in Buenos Aires, nor as good as the 
Plaza Hotel of Cordoba, this Plaza 
Hotel of Salta is a very laudable affair. 
It is by far the best hotel in Salta, is clean, 
with good dining-room service. Alany larger 
cities in the United States have far worse hotels 
than this. jMost of the rooms open onto a patio, 
from which ascend two staircases to the second 
floor. 



654 




655 



MITRE STREET. 

THIS is the main street of Salta, although 
this photograph was taken of a part of 
it, two blocks north of where the real 
retail section begins. Mitre Street 
begins at the railroad station and, passing the new 
capitol, runs to the Plaza 9th of July. It then 
continues southward to the end of the city past 
the church of the Candelaria, with separate 
campanile. 



656 



BANK OF THE ARGENTINE NATION. 

THIS branch of the great Buenos Aires 
Bank is the largest in the Province of 
Salt a. It is situated about half a block 
west of the Plaza 9th of July. The 
manager is Don Francisco Pereyra, whose guest 
Dr. Stephens was during his sojourn in Salta. 
The upstairs is used for the living apartments 
of the Pereyra family. 



658 



PROVINCIAL BANK, SALTA. 

NEARLY every provincial capital has a 
bank named Provincial Bank, or 
Bank of the Province of — . Salta 
is no exception to this. These build- 
ings give an idea of the type of modern construction 
which is replacing the ancient in this northern 
city of Argentina. 



660 



ANCIENT CHURCH OF LA MERCED. 



N 



EARLY all of the Salta churches are old- 
timers. Observe this antique remnant 
of Spanish times. 



662 




66^ 



SAN MARTIN PARK. 

THIS recreation ground and favorite pro- 
menade is on the eastern limits of the 
city. It contains several artificial lakes ; 
it also has a casino where the thirsty 
visitor on a hot summer's day may partake of a cool, 
refreshing drink. , 



664 



PENITENTIARY, 



666 



4 




667 



MODERN RESIDENCE, SALTA. 



668 



2oTH OF FEBRUARY MONUMENT. 

THIS monument commemorates the vic- 
tory of General Belgrano over the 
Spaniards, February 20, 1812. This 
monument stands on the plain where 
the battle took place, about a mile and a half 
northwest of Salta. 



670 



T 



CEMETERY SCENE, SALTA. 

HE monument in the foreground is that of 
a private famih'. These monuments are 
made of brick and plastered over. • 



672 




673 



VIEW ACROSS THE ROOFS OF SALTA 

FROM MONASTERY OF SAN 

FRANCISCO. 



THE monastery of San Francisco is three hun- 
dred years old. 



STREET SCENE IN GUEMES. 

THIS is the main street of the village of 
General GCiemes, or Giiemes as it is 
more often called. The town is named 
after a member of the wealthy and re- 
nowned Giiemes family of Salta. It is a railroad 
center, and at best is a miserable looking place. 
This is a good example of a small town of North- 
ern Argentina. Arches, piers, and pillars (observe 
building in center of this photograph) play a more 
important part in architecture than in Southern 
Ars:entina. 



674 



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pi .or 


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W^^' ' ■ " _ r^^^:: '::- ^^ 


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m^^-' ■ ■ • ■ ---r — ■ 


^11 '^ III 




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"T 




'^"''■.■' •;?fc 



■*^i 



675 



STEERS ON A SALTA FARM. 



676 





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i^H 




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677 



PROVINCE OF SAN LUIS. 

THE area of this province is 28,535 
square miles, somewhat smaller than 
the state of South Carolina. Its popu- 
lation in 1 91 5 was 122,720 inhabitants. 
In agriculture San Luis is one of the poorest prov- 
inces in all Argentina, and it is to be wondered at 
that it has the population that it has. The northern 
part is mountainous, a continuation of the Sierra 
de Cordoba, covered with sagebrush, chaparral, 
and mesquite. Here rise a few rivers that flow in- 
to the Province of Cordoba, the most important of 
these being the Rio Ouinto. These rivers have 
more water nearer their sources than farther down- 
stream, for, in the last -mentioned places, much 
water has become absorbed by the sand or has 
become saline on account of the surface salt in the 
soil. The southern part of the province is sterile ; 
it is an arid desert where few people live. San 
Luis suffers from droughts, sometimes a year 
elapsing between rains; the part of the country 
which is under cultivation is brought into its 
present state by means of irrigation, the water 
supply being furnished by the dams of Potrero de 
los Funes, and of Chorillos. 

678 



Although San Luis is deficient in water, and 
therefore poor in agriculture, it is rich in mineral 
resources, which since Spanish rule have been 
neglected. The Spaniards exploited the country 
merely for the minerals, and at Carolina they had 
valuable gold mines. Wolfram and manganese 
are today mined at Quines. There exist in the 
province deposits of copper, silver, vanadium, 
manganese, gold, and mica, besides quarries of 
marble and onyx. 

Two railroads traverse San Luis, the Western, 
and the Buenos Aires Pacific. The latter has 
many branches. 

The capital is the city of San Luis. It is 
on the Buenos Aires Pacific Railroad, in the north- 
ern part of the province. The only other town 
worthy of mention is Villa Mercedes, an important 
railroad center in the eastern part of the pro- 
vince, near the boundary line with the Province 
of Cordoba. It has a population of about 9000 
inhabitants. 

The inhabitants are noted for their fine appear- 
ance and for their strength. Many are the de- 
scendants of the mestizos (mixed Spanish and 
Indian blood) from the colonial times. 



679 



CITY OF SAN LUIS. 

THE city of San Luis, capital of the pro- 
vince of the same name, is a dull, 
sleepy, quiet place of about 12,000 
inhabitants, and is not growing. It is 
built in an oasis, formed by irrigation, and in 
climate is dry and healthy. The city was founded 
in 1597, by Martin Onez de Loyola, on a high 
plateau at the southwestern extremity of a range 
of mountains named the Punta de los Venados. 
Its inhabitants are nicknamed Puntanos, a deriva- 
tion from those words. 

The town is not worthy of a visit unless the 
stranger is called there on business. The only two 
buildings that amount to anything are the depot 
and the capitol. The Plaza Pringles is a fine, 
shady park, but poorly kept up. The hotels are 
lacking in comfort and modernity. 



680 



RAILROAD STATION. 

THIS is the station of the Buenos Aires 
Pacific Railroad. It stands about a 
mile northwest of the city, and with the 
exception of the capitol is the most 
imposing edifice of the place. 



STREET SCENE. 



682 




:>.iifc«ii-i*«»»:::^#.;#'i^»4,ii?2^±i 







683 



THE CAPITOL, SAN LUIS. ■ 

THIS is the largest and best building in 
the city of San Luis. Electric wires 
have been stretched all over its fagade 
to which are attached countless bulbs, 
as shown in this photograph. On holidays it is 
illuminated, but so weak is the electric light plant 
of the city, that when all the bulbs on the capitol 
are lighted, the rest of the city is in semi-darkness. 
The Governor of the province is Juan Daract. 



684 




685 



POST-OFFICE, SAN LUIS. 



686 




687 



CLUB AND MUNICIPAL THEATRE. 



688 




689 



COURT HOUSE, SAN LUIS. 



690 



MARKET, SAN LUIS, 



692 




693 



LAFINUR SCHOOL. 

This is for boys only. 



694 




695 



CHURCH OF SANTO DOMINGO. 



696 




697 



PRINGLES MONUMENT. 

UNDER this pinnacle of brick and plaster 
repose the mortal remains of Juan 
Pascual Pringles, one of the heroes 
of Argentina's War of Independence. 
He was a native son of desolate San Luis. 



698 



i 




699 



BANK OF THE ARGENTINE NATION. 



ALFALFA FIELD, ENVIRONS OF SAN 
LUIS. 



700 




I 







'01 



ONE OF THE :vIAIN STREETS. 



HACIENDA ABOUT THREE AHLES EAST 
OF CITY OF SAN LUIS. 

^HE mountains are the Punta de los Venados, 
rich hi minerals and in mountain hons. 



702 





r03 



TYPICAL COUNTRY SCENE, PROVINCE OF 
SAN LUIS. 

THIS is a view of the landscape of San 
Luis Province where the wagon road 
to the east crosses the Chorillo Creek 
at a point named Puente Blanco (White 
Bridge). The Punta de los Venados is seen in the 
background. 



704 




705 



PROVINCE OF MENDOZA. 

THE Province of Mendoza has an area 
of 56,502 square miles (a trifle less 
than Michigan) and had a population 
in 191 5 of 283,640 inhabitants. It is 
the most important province of Western Argen- 
tina, and under the viceregency it, together with 
what are now the provinces of San Luis and San 
Juan, formed the Province of Cuyo, and was 
administered from Santiago, Chile. 

The eastern part of the province is something 
similar to San Luis, dry and arid, and covered 
with scrub and mimosa bushes. The western 
part is extremely fertile, caused by water being 
conducted to it from the Andean streams, the 
chief ones of which are the Tunuyan, the Mendoza, 
and the Diamante. It is in this region at the foot 
of the Andes that is located the greatest wine 
producing country in South America. For miles 
and miles are vineyards, and the landscape is 
dotted with wineries, some of which are enormous, 
that of Tomba at Godoy Cruz being one of the 
largest in the world. The wine industry has of 
late years been somewhat overdone, as none is 

706 



exported to Europe in large quantities, owing 
to local competition. Therefore the growing of 
fruits for table usages and for canning now is one 
of the leading industries. Stock-raising is another. 
Not many cereals are grown, as it is too expensive 
to grow them by irrigation. 

The climate presents the extremes, the summers 
being hot and the winters cold. In the neighbor- 
hood of the Andes it rains frequently, the fre- 
quency and precipitation diminishing considerably 
as the pampa is approached going eastward. The 
highest mountains in South America are in the 
Province of Mendoza, the culminating point being 
Aconcagua, whose height is estimated at 24,000 
feet. It is a volcano. At a pass in these moun- 
tains, that of Uspallata, San Martin crossed into 
Chile where he defeated the Spaniards, breaking 
the Spanish rule in the southern part of South 
America. There are many mineral springs in the 
province owing their origin to the volcanic condi- 
tions there existing. The waters from Villavi- 
cencio are widely drunk ; those of Cacheuta and of 
Puente del Inca are for thermal purposes. 

In the province there is a large Italian element, 
who have been attracted here to pursue the same 
walks in life that they have accustomed them- 
selves to in the old country. It was they who 
brought in the Lombardy poplars, trees that grace 
every Mendoza landscape. 

There are three railroads in the province; 
the Buenos Aires Pacific, with the city of Men- 

707 



doza as its terminus, has a network of lines in the 
neighborhood of the capitaL The Western Rail- 
road enters the southern part of the province and 
has its terminal at General Alvear. The Trans- 
andine Railroad begins at Mendoza and by a nar- 
row gauge track crosses the Andes into Chile. 

The capital of the province is the city of Men- 
doza, a fine city of 65,000 inhabitants. The only 
other places of importance are Godoy Cruz, a 
suburb of Mendoza; San Rafael in the southern 
part of the province and the heart of the Dia- 
mante Valley wine country; General Alvear, 
farther south, and La Paz, a railroad junction 
with car shops. 



708 



CITY OF MENDOZA. 

THIS is a fine, old-fashioned town with 
broad, shady streets, low but massive 
buildings, beautiful parks, and ani- 
mated business streets. Its population 
is about 65,000, exclusive of its suburb Godoy 
Cruz which has 10,000 more. It is an opulent 
city, the home of the rich wine manufacturers and 
merchants, who prefer to live on their estates than 
to move to Buenos Aires after having made their 
fortune. People compare Mendoza vv^ith Guate- 
mala City, because between the sidewalks and the 
road run streams of fresh water, spanned by 
cement and stone foot-bridges a yard long. Al- 
though it gets very hot in the summer, one can 
always keep cool by seeking the shade of the 
sycamore trees that line the sidewalks. 

The Plaza San Martin is one of the finest in 
Argentina and is well kept up. Its trees have not 
had the chance to afford shade, as they are still 
young. It contains an equestrian statue of the 
patriot looking towards the Andes, for here the 
Guerrero had his winter headquarters before 
crossing into Chile. On an eminence a few miles 

709 



west of the city stands a colossal monument in 
honor of the liberating arm}^ The West Park is 
criterion for all others in provincial Argentina. 

The wineries of Domingo Tomba and of the 
Benegas Brothers are the best known' in South 
America. Outside of the products of the vintage, 
there is but little manufacturing in Mendoza, 
although there are several small potteries and 
some fruit-canning establishments. The stranger 
to Mendoza is astounded at seeing the great num- 
ber of adobe buildings, which form the majority. 
The old town w^hich was visited by an earthquake 
and practically devastated in 1861, over 10,000 
persons being killed, was practically entirely built 
of adobe, and the buildings that are not built of 
that material have been erected since then. 

The growth of Mendoza has not been rapid. 
This was due to its inaccessibility. It is 655 miles 
west of Buenos Aires, and but 242 from Santiago, 
Chile, which city had always been its trade outlet 
until the railroad was built connecting it with 
Buenos Aires and Rosario, which gave it access to 
the River Plate over a seemingly level stretch of 
territory. Mendoza carries on a brisk trade with 
Chile. 

It possesses a fair hotel named the Grand, owned 
by an Alsatian Jew named Levi, and a less pre- 
tentious German one named the Bauer. 



710 



BUENOS AIRES PACIFIC RAILROAD 
STATION. 



NECOCI-IEA STREET. 



712 





713 



MUNICIPAL THEATRE. 



BANK OF THE PROVINCE OF MENDOZA. 

THIS bank as well as one in the city 
of San Juan, issues its own paper 
money, which is acceptable every- 
where in the province excepting in the 
government offices. 



714 




x. 



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§m 



715 



PLAZA SAN MARTIN. 

THIS photograph is facing the west. Note 
the equestrian statue of San Martin 
facing the same direction. This is be- 
cause it was in the west, in Chile, that 
he defeated the Spaniards under Osorio, and it was 
to the west over the Andes that he led his troops. 
The building on the extreme left is a club; that 
in the center is the Spanish Bank of the River 
Plate ; the one on the right is not a synagogue as 
one might suppose from its Hebraic architecture, 
but is the leading Roman Catholic church of Men- 
doza. 



i 



716 




717 



SPANISH BANK OF THE RIVER PLATE. 



718 



i 




719 



BANK OF THE ARGENTINE NATION. 



T 



HIS branch of the Buenos Aires bank of 
the same name has its building at the 
northeast corner of the Plaza San 
Martin. 



720 




721 



THE ALAMEDA. 

SO is called the prolongation of San Martin 
Street. It divides the original city 
"Old" Mendoza from the modern one. 
This view is taken looking north. The 
buildings to the right belong in "Old" Mendoza, 
while those to the left appertain to the modern 
town. 



■22 




'23 



RUINS OF THE CHURCH OF SANTO 
DOMINGO. 

THIS edifice was built of adobe and was 
situated in the center of ''Old" Men- 
doza. All the buildings in the old 
city were built of this material. On 
March 20, 1861, there was a terrible earthquake. 
The roofs fell outward, killing the people who were 
walking on the sidewalk, and the roofs collapsed 
killing those who remained indoors. Over 10,000 
people alone lost their lives in Mendoza. It was a 
Sunday night and church services were being held. 
Of the several hundred people in the church of 
Santo Domingo at the time of the catastrophe, 
only one escaped unhurt. This was a drunken 
man who had lain down beneath an arch (the 
center one in this photograph) . This arch did not 
collapse. 

Notice the caladiums or ''elephant's ears" 
planted around the artificial lake. Few South 
American parks or gardens are lacking in these 
plants. 



724 




725 



SARMIENTO STREET. 

THIS is a typical street in the modern part 
of the city. Notice the gutters, flanked 
by foot-bridges. These gutters are 
paved with polished stones and pebbles, 
and through them flows clear running water, 
which gives a cooling impression even on the 
hottest summer da3^s. 



726 







727 



ROTUNDA IN WEST PARK. 

WEST PARK (Parque del Oeste) is 
about a mile and a half west of the 
main part of Mendoza. It is beauti- 
fully laid out, and each year that 
elapses witnesses new improvements in it. The 
hill in the left background is at present surmounted 
by a statue in commemoration of the Liberating 
Army. It is now planted to trees and bushes, 
which are kept alive by water which is piped to its 
summit, and then allowed to run down its sides 
in ditches. 



728 




729 



T 



WINE INDUSTRY, PROVINCE OF 
MENDpZA. 

HIS is a photograph of the grape vats in one 
of the large wineries of the province. 



730 




731 



VflNE INDUSTRY, PROVINCE OF 
AIENDOZA. 

^HESE are wine presses in one of Mendoza's 
large wineries. 



732 




733 



T 



VnXE INDUSTRY, PROYIXCE OF 
3.IEXB0ZA. 

HESE are comi^artments for the ferment aticn 
of wine. 



734 




735 



WINE INDUSTRY, PROVINCE OF 
AIENDOZA. 

THIS is the shipping -room of the Tra- 
piche Winery, the property of the 
Benegas Brothers. Their vine3^ards 
are about five miles south of Mendoza. 



736 




737 



SCENES, PROVINCE OF MENDOZA. 



LUJAN DAM, UPPER VIEW. 

THIS water is used for irrigation purposes. 
The part of the province which can be 
supplied with water is named the Zona 
del Riego. It is here where the wine 
industry flourishes. 



LUJAN DAM, LOWER VIEW. 



738 




739 



RIO BLANCO. 

THIS name means White River, its color 
being derived from its sprays and 
foam as it rushes turbulently down 
the Andean mountain canyon. It is 
a typical stream of the Argentine Andes. 



740 




741 



BATHS OF CACHEUTA. 

THIS photograph is by Augusto Streich of 
Mendoza. 
Cacheuta lies in a defile of the Men- 
doza River, in the Andes Mountains, 
twenty-five miles west of the city of Mendoza. 
It is on the Transandean Railroad. The land- 
scape is barren and unattractive. The place 
consists of a large hotel with baths and a gambling 
establishment. The waters are good for rheu- 
matism, but are bad for the heart. The majority 
of people visiting Cacheuta do not come to be 
cured of any affliction but to play roulette in the 
casino which is the great attraction. It is fre- 
quented only by the elite, and every Sunday wit- 
nesses many visitors from Mendoza who arrive 
and depart for home the same day. 

Since this photograph was taken, a large three- 
story hotel has been built where stood the long, 
low, straggling building here depicted. 



742 




743 



BATHS OF CACHEUTA. 

THIS is a grotto adjacent to the baths. 
The gentleman in the striped under- 
clothing is a former mianager of the 
thermal establishment. 



'44 




745 



USPALLATA. 

THIS is a station on the Transandean 
Railroad, fifty-eight miles west of Men- 
doza. The valley of the Mendoza River 
here opens forming a valley which 
contains one large ranch, that of Uspallata, 
planted to alfalfa. It was at this ranch, that 
San Martin assembled his army for the final stage 
of his march across the Andes, a march that is 
unparalleled in history which, in magnitude of 
undertaking, owing to the obstacles to be met, 
surpasses Hannibal's crossing of the Alps. 



746 




747 



LAS VACAS. 

LAS VACAS is on the Transandean Rail- 
road, 91 miles west of Mendoza and 19 
miles east of the last Argentine station. 
It is 7784 feet above sea level. A snow 
storm was raging in the mountains to the left 
when this photograph was taken, hence the hazy 
view in that direction. 



748 




749 



PUENTE DEL INCA. 

THE name of this place translated into 
English means Bridge of the Inca, 
so called from a natural bridge under 
which flows a turbulent glacial stream. 
Although the name Inca appears as an appellation 
in several instances in this region, a lake in Chile 
across the Andes not far from here being called the 
Lago del Inca, it is a historical fact that the Incas 
never were in this part of the country, nor were 
they nearer than looo miles north of here. 

Puente del Inca is 102 miles west of Mendoza 
and 8 miles east of the international tunnel. Its 
altitude is 8840 feet above sea level. The place is 
a fashionable summer resort, the tourists attracted 
thither by the bracing air, the baths from the hot 
springs, and mountain climbing. It is the starting- 
point to ascend Aconcagua, whose height is esti- 
mated at 24,000 feet. 



750 




751 



PUENTE DEL INCA. 

THIS is a photograph of the famous natural 
bridge of Argentina. It is of calcareous 
rock and stands 86 feet above the defile 
of the Mendoza River. It is an arch, 
its under side being in the form of an ellipse, which 
measures 156 feet. Its top is 102 feet long, while 
its thickness averages 28 feet. 



752 




753 



PUENTE DEL INCA. 

KI sport is one of the winter attractions of this 
balnearial resort. 



754 




755 



ACONCAGUA. 

THIS volcano, thought to be extinct, is the 
highest in South America. It is esti- 
mated to be 24,000 feet high, but 
careful calculations show that its height 
is only 23,080 feet. It has been ascended several 
times, the first man to do so being E. A. Fitzgerald. 
Although the mountain is both in Argentina and 
in Chile, its summit, however, lies within Argentine 
dominion. 



756 




757 



MOUTH OF INTERNATIONAL TUNNEL, 
LAS CUEVAS. 

LAS CUEVAS is the last Argentine 
station. Its altitude above sea level is 
10,241 feet. Here is the international 
tunnel which was inaugurated April 5, 
1 910. It is 9848 feet long, 5460 feet of which are 
in Argentine territory, the remaining 4388 feet 
being Chilean. It passes 2559 feet beneath the 
Cumbre Pass, over which there is still considerable 
travel. In winter, when snow blockades in the 
open prohibit the communication between Argen- 
tina and Chile by train, many people ride through 
the tunnel on horseback or else walk through it. 
The writer has walked through it both ways, and 
has also crossed the pass of the Cumbre on horse- 
back. 



758 




759 



INTERNATIONAL TUNNEL, LAS 
CUEVAS. 



T 



HIS view taken a few rods within the 
mouth of the tunnel is looking out 
of the Argentine entrance into the 
Province of Mendoza. 



760 



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1 



THE CHRIST OF THE ANDES. 

THIS is a statue of "Christ the Redeemer," 
named in Spanish '' Cristo Redentor." 
There had been a long-standing dispute 
between Argentina and Chile over the 
boundary question of these respective countries 
which was becoming serious. An amicable under- 
standing was brought about, and this monument 
was erected as a symbol of Peace. Christ has his 
right hand outstretched in the act of blessing 
both nations. This statue is of bronze, is 29 feet 
high, and is the work of the Argentine sculptor, 
IMateo Alonso. It was dedicated in March, 1904. 
In the background, notice an iron tower, painted 
white. There are several of these, and the lines 
drawn between them and the Christ define the 
boundary. 

When the writer saw the ''Cristo Redentor" it 
was in a sorry state. The elements had blown the 
cross from his hand, and the body was pockmarked 
with white spots, caused by the bullets the Chilean 
rotos had fired at it with their revolvers when they 
recrossed the Andes to their native country, after 
having worked for the season installing the electri- 
cal plant at Puente del Inca. Recently, however, 
this statue has been repaired. 



762 




763 



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